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| Rescue forces and police found the body of the last missing victim in the serious landslide that occurred in Hà Giang Province on September 29. — VNA/VNS Photo |
HÀ GIANG — The final missing victim of the devastating landslide that struck on the morning of September 29 along National Highway No. 2 in Bắc Quang District, the northern mountainous province of Hà Giang, has been found.
Colonel Nguyễn Đức Thuận, Deputy Director of the Hà Giang Police reported on Wednesday that after four days of intensive search efforts, rescue teams identified the victim as Nguyễn Viết Thuộc, a 64-year-old resident of Tân Tiến village, Tân Quang Commune. His body was discovered buried beneath more than three metres of debris at the foundation of his home.
To date, five individuals reported missing due to the landslide at Kilometre 51 on National Highway 2 have been recovered and returned to local authorities and families for burial.
Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms leading up to the incident contributed to substantial mudslides, creating ongoing risks for further landslides. These conditions have complicated search and rescue operations at Kilometre 51, making the work particularly hazardous.
Alongside the search and rescue operations for missing individuals, police continue to assist residents in high-risk landslide areas to relocate to safer places.
Lê Anh Dũng, deputy chief of the provincial Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue, reported that the landslide led to six deaths and nine injuries.
In total, 379 houses were damaged.
Some vehicles were buried under thousands of cubic metres of earth and rock in the landslide.
The disaster also devastated hundreds of hectares of harvest-ready crops and blocked many roads, paralysing traffic along National Highway No. 2.
Initial damage estimates exceed VNĐ65 billion (US$2.64 million). — VNS
