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At Least 24 Killed By Landslide In Kyrgyzstan


Several houses were also swept away in the landslide in southern Kyrgyzstan.
Several houses were also swept away in the landslide in southern Kyrgyzstan.

At least 24 people were killed when a landslide swept through village in southern Kyrgyzstan.

The Emergencies Ministry says there are nine children among those buried alive in the village of Ayu in the country's Osh region on April 29.

Dozens of rescue workers are at the scene looking for survivors.

President Almazbek Atambaev, meanwhile, made an emotional video appeal posted to the presidential YouTube channel, saying villagers had been warned earlier in the week of possible mudslides.

He called on people to heed experts' warnings.

The Central Asian nation, 95 percent of which is mountainous, has seen heavy snows and rains this winter.

Emergency Minister Kubatbek Boronov told RFE/RL that more than 5,000 places around the country faced a real threat of landslides or flooding.

The Ayu landslide is the country's deadliest since 2004 when a mudslide killed 33 people.

With reporting by AFP and Interfax
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