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Asia

Up to 14 people missing after landslide in eastern Switzerland

24 August 2017 19:34 (UTC +04:00)

Local police in eastern Switzerland's canton Graubunden on Thursday told a press briefing that up to 14 people went missing following a landslide near a village near the border with Italy, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The landslide occurred on Wednesday in the Val Bondasca region of canton Graubunden. Initially no casualties were reported.

Earlier on Thursday morning, local police said eight people went missing as a result of the disaster. They refreshed the casualties, saying that a separate group of six people may also be missing during the huge flow of rocks and mud in the area.

Those missing were described as hikers and climbers respectively from Switzerland, Germany and Austria, local police said. No children or locals from the region were among those reported missing.

According to the police, rescue teams including 120 rescue workers, an army helicopter using thermal sensing technology as well as rescue dogs are still underway.

Local media said that about 100 inhabitants of the mountain village of Bondo were also evacuated as a precaution, who as of midday on Thursday could still not return home.