Afghan landslide kills 10, destroys 300 homes

At least 10 people were killed and 300 homes damaged as a landslide swept through an Afghan village where residents were using only basic digging tools to search for survivors, officials said.

Two helicopters with a rescue team and emergency aid flew to the northeastern province of Panjshir where disaster struck on Wednesday night, the officials said.

Top priority was to save those trapped in the debris after the landslide hit the village in Khenj district, Omar Mohammadi, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority, said on Thursday.

Several regions of Afghanistan regularly suffer landslides when snow melts in the spring, but deforestation in some parts has increased their frequency, reports Reuters.

President Ashraf Ghani, in Brussels for the NATO summit, ordered authorities to provide victims with necessary assistance, his office said in a statement.