More bodies found after US landslide

25 March 2014 Last updated at 11:56

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Aerial footage shows the damage caused by the Oso landslide

Authorities in the US state of Washington have found six more bodies after Saturday's huge landslide, bringing the number known to have been killed to 14, say police.

Officials now say as many as 176 people may remain unaccounted for after the 177ft (54m) wall of mud hit near the town of Oso, north of Seattle.

Search crews have worked day and night, using helicopters and laser imaging.

But officials admit they have little hope of finding survivors.

'Devastation beyond imagination'

President Barack Obama has declared an emergency in Washington state and ordered federal authorities to co-ordinate the disaster relief effort.

Speaking earlier after surveying the area from the air, Washington Governor Jay Inslee said it was "devastation beyond imagination".

He said the slide "basically cut a mountain in two" and deposited it on the town below. Nothing in the path of the slide was still standing.

"It's that absolute devastation that causes us all real pain," he said.

Family members and volunteers were using chainsaws and their bare hands to shift the wreckage and try to find those missing.

Cory Kuntz, helped by others, worked with chainsaws to cut through the roof of his uncle's house, which was swept about 450ft (137m) from its location.

He said his aunt, Linda McPherson, had been killed. He and the others pulled files and personal effects from the house.

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Authorities say there are 108 reports of people unaccounted for or missing

"When you look at it, you just kind of go in shock," he said.

'Awful lot of grieving'

Gail Moffett, a retired firefighter, said she knew about 25 people who were missing, including entire families with young children.

At a news conference on Monday evening, Snohomish County emergency management director John Pennington said the official list of the missing stood at 176.

But he said he did not think the final death toll would be so high, because some of those listed as unaccounted for would be found to be alive, and other names would prove to be duplicates.

He also said authorities no longer expected to find survivors in the debris.

"We as a community, we as a county, are beginning to realise that we are moving toward a recovery operation," he said.

"There is an awful lot of grieving."

The landslide left behind a cliff known as a head scarp 600ft high, Washington state geologist Dave Norman told reporters on Monday afternoon.

"This is one of the biggest landslides I've seen," Mr Norman said.

Authorities have continued their search-and-rescue operations amid a tangled, water-logged field of mud and debris, using rescue dogs, aerial photography and laser imaging to help the search.

Stable

Officials said the conditions were treacherous, and the threat of further landslides on Monday forced the authorities to pull rescue workers back from the scene briefly until scientists determined there was no further risk.

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BBC Weather's Elizabeth Saary looks at how heavy rain caused the landslide

"Right now it's stable, it's in good shape, and the good news is the rescue can continue," said Steve Tomsen, Snohomish County public works director.

More than 30 homes were destroyed and more than half the town of Oso is missing - a recent census put its population at 180.

The landslide cut off the city of Darrington and clogged the north fork of the Stillaguamish River.

Mr Norman said the river had begun to flow over the debris, relieving the water pressure in the part of the river blocked behind the landslide and lessening the chances of a catastrophic flood if the water should break through all at once.

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