Rescue workers have been able to recover only nine bodies among the more than 100 people missing in the wake of a huge avalanche in the Russian Caucasus, the emergencies ministry said on Tuesday.
Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigou arrived on Tuesday in the regional capital Vladikavkaz to assess the extent of the damage from the avalanche that occurred on Friday when a huge piece of a glacier broke off in the Koban Gorge, sweeping away everything in its path.
Up to 500 rescuers, equipped with around 100 vehicles, search dogs and using three helicopters, resumed their work on Tuesday morning in the Karmadon Gorge, North Ossetia, which was ravaged by a 33 kilometre long ice, rock and mud slide, news agencies reported.
According to ITAR-TASS, quoting the emergencies ministry, nine bodies have been recovered since the search began, and 17 inhabitants of the village of Nizhny Karmadon are considered dead, taking the official death toll to 26 people.
The North Ossetian interior ministry compiled a list on Monday of the 113 people still missing, including most of the 20-strong film crew of the actor and director Sergei Bodrov which was shooting a movie high in the mountains.
The authorities estimated that the number of victims could be much greater, due to the presence of Georgian refugees in the region.
The North Ossetian authorities announced a day of national mourning on Tuesday in the small republic of the Russian North Caucasus, near Chechnya.
The avalanche broke off from a 150-metre thick glacier, which lies at an altitude of more than 2 500 metres between the Caucasian peaks of Mount Kazbek (5,033 metres) and Mount Elbrus (5,633 metres). – Sapa-AFP