Landslide in southeast Myanmar kills at least 34 people

YANGON, Myanmar – A landslide buried more than a dozen village houses in southeastern Myanmar, killing at least 34 people, an official said Saturday.

Rescuers were using backhoes and bulldozers to clear the mud and debris from the village in Paung township. The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported that some residents were still missing.

Zaw Zaw Htoo, a member of parliament from Paung who arrived at the scene on Saturday morning, said the death toll had reached 34. He said he saw rescue teams retrieve 12 bodies on Saturday, after 22 were found on Friday. He said the search operation was still ongoing.

The top official in Mon state, Aye Zan, visited the site and villagers who were evacuated to a relief camp to escape floods following torrential rains.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that monsoon flooding had displaced more than 7,000 people this week in Mon state. Apart from the landslide in Paung, houses and a school in other townships were washed away, roads were blocked and villages were submerged.

Nearly 12,000 people have been displaced in Myanmar this week alone, bringing the total number of those in evacuation centres to more than 38,000, the U.N. said.