Deadly mudslides hit border region between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan

Heavy rain in border regions between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan spurred mudslides that have left 14 dead, authorities in the Central Asian countries said on Tuesday.

Landslides hit the mountainous region every year, blocking roads and often forcing families to rebuild homes from scratch.

Kyrgyzstan officials said the bodies of six people had been recovered and two children were missing after landslides swept through villages in the west of the country.

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At least eight people were unaccounted for in Aksy district after floods destroyed homes and bridges, the emergency ministry said.

“Two children in the village of Tashtak were washed away by the torrent,” it said, noting that six bodies had been recovered.

Amateur footage posted by a local news organization showed rapid flows of earth and water carrying dozens of trees and branches near rural homes in the region.

President Sadyr Japarov ordered the government to take “all necessary measures as soon as possible” to provide assistance and offered condolences to the families of the victims.

The emergency services said roughly 20 rescuers and dozens more locals were working to find the missing.

Those same deluges descended on eastern Uzbekistan, authorities there said later Tuesday, claiming eight lives and leaving six others injured.

Emergency services were working on the scene in the Kasansay district, its press service said.

In Tajikistan in Central Asia in May, at least eight people were killed and property damaged in landslides in rural regions.

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