Myanmar landslide kills 41, many more feared missing

The death toll from a landslide triggered by monsoon rains in eastern Myanmar rose to at least 41, an official said late Saturday, as emergency workers continued for a second night their desperate search through thick mud for the scores feared missing.

A huge brown gash on the hillside marked where the deluge of mud flooded onto Ye Pyar Kone village in Mon State on Friday, wiping out 27 homes.

Search and rescue teams worked through Friday night and into late Saturday, using excavators and their bare hands to recover bodies from the deep sludge. 

“The death toll has risen to 41,” township administrator U Zaw Moe Aung told AFP on Saturday.

Some farm animals, like cows and goats, were found alive, but “there are no humans left alive,” he said, adding that the search operations will push through for a second night. 

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