Death Toll Nearing Two Dozen in US Landslide

2014-03-26

Sixteen people are now confirmed dead from last week's landslide in Washington state that destroyed dozens of homes in a rural community.

The death toll was revised after rescue workers recovered two more bodies in the town of Oso, located just north of Seattle. Officials said they believe they have located eight more bodies in the rubble, while another 176 people continue to be listed as missing.

Rescue crews are using heavy equipment, high tech cameras, search dogs and their bare hands to search and dig through the rubble in the search for possible survivors and victims.

Last Saturday's disaster occurred when hillside collapsed after several weeks of heavy rains.

On Tuesday, the Seattle Times newspaper published a report written by a geologist with U.S. Corps of Engineers in 1999 that warned of the potential of "catastrophic failure" in the area affected by Saturday's landslide.

Source: Voice of America