At least 24 people were killed when a landslide swept through village in southern Kyrgyzstan.

The Emergencies Ministry says there are nine children among those buried alive in the village of Ayu in the country's Osh region on April 29.

Dozens of rescue workers are at the scene looking for survivors.

President Almazbek Atambaev, meanwhile, made an emotional video appeal posted to the presidential YouTube channel, saying villagers had been warned earlier in the week of possible mudslides.

He called on people to heed experts' warnings.

The Central Asian nation, 95 percent of which is mountainous, has seen heavy snows and rains this winter.

Emergency Minister Kubatbek Boronov told RFE/RL that more than 5,000 places around the country faced a real threat of landslides or flooding.

The Ayu landslide is the country's deadliest since 2004 when a mudslide killed 33 people.

With reporting by AFP and Interfax</s>At least 24 people are reported to have been killed by a landslide that swept over a village in southern Kyrgyzstan early on April 29.

The Emergencies Ministry says there are nine children among those buried alive in the village of Ayu in the country's Osh region.

Dozens of rescue workers are at the scene looking for survivors.

President Almazbek Atambaev sent Emergencies Minister Kubatbek Boronov to the village with instructions to provide aid to the stricken families.

Dozens of people survived the landslide but lost their homes.

Some 95 percent of Kyrgyzstan is mountainous.

The landslide in Ayu is reportedly the country's most deadly since one in 2004 that killed 33 people.

With reporting by AFP and Interfax</s>At least 24 persons were killed in a landslide that swept over a part of a village in southern Kyrgyzstan on Saturday, the Emergencies Ministry said.

 

 The landslide struck the village of Ayu in the Osh region of the mountainous country at around 6:40 a.m. (local time), swallowing seven houses in the village and burying more than 20 people in six of the seven houses. 

 

 The Emergencies Ministry said there were nine children among those buried alive, Xinhua news agency reported. 

 

 Dozens of rescue workers were at the scene looking for survivors.

 

 Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev sent Emergencies Minister Kubatbek Boronov to the village to take charge of the rescue operation.

 

 A rescue headquarters was also established in the village. Apart from over 180 rescuers, 100 Kyrgyz soldiers participated in the rescue operation.

 

 Atambayev decreed to declare April 30 a day of mourning for those killed under the landslide, according to the press service of the President.

 

 On the day of mourning, the national flags of the Kyrgyz Republic will be lowered nationwide and on the buildings of diplomatic missions abroad. 

 

 TV and radio companies were told to cancel entertainment programmes.</s>MOSCOW, April 29 (Reuters) - At least 24 people were missing in south-Western Kyrgyzstan on Saturday after a landslide tore through a village, Kyrgyzstan's Emergency Ministry said on Saturday.

The landslide, caused by heavy rains, destroyed eleven houses in the village in Uzgen district of Osh region at around 0120 GMT on Saturday. The exact number of people hit by the landslide was unclear, the Emergency Ministry said.

The press office of the local administration said people in the area received a warning about risks of a possible landslide and were recommended to leave the area. Those who decided to stay signed papers saying they had been informed about the danger, the press office said.

More than 180 emergency ministry personnel are working at the site to excavate the buried village, according to local authorities.

Since the beginning of the year, at least 25 landslides have been registered in the Osh region of the Central Asian country, killing six people, Russia's state-run news agency RIA reported. (Reporting by Hulkar Isamova; Writing by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Toby Chopra)</s>The country's Emergency Ministry said the landslide was caused by heavy rain and destroyed eleven houses in the village in Uzgen district. — Reuters screenshotMOSCOW, April 29 — At least 24 people were missing in south-Western Kyrgyzstan yesterday after a landslide tore through a village, Kyrgyzstan’s Emergency Ministry said on Saturday.

The landslide, caused by heavy rains, destroyed eleven houses in the village in Uzgen district of Osh region at around 0120 GMT yesterday. The exact number of people hit by the landslide was unclear, the Emergency Ministry said.

The press office of the local administration said people in the area received a warning about risks of a possible landslide and were recommended to leave the area. Those who decided to stay signed papers saying they had been informed about the danger, the press office said.

More than 180 emergency ministry personnel are working at the site to excavate the buried village, according to local authorities.

Since the beginning of the year, at least 25 landslides have been registered in the Osh region of the Central Asian country, killing six people, Russia’s state-run news agency RIA reported. — Reuters</s>An enormous landslide engulfed part of a village in Kyrgyzstan killing 24 people, including nine children.

The earth slip entombed the inhabitants of six houses when it hit the village of Ayu in the Osh region at around 6:40am local time, Kyrgyzstan officials said in a statement.

'All 24 citizens of Kyrgzystan, nine of them children, died under the landslide in the south of the country,' ministry spokeswoman Elmira Sheripova said.

Over 250 rescue workers including medics and soldiers were at the scene.

Emergencies minister Kubatbek Boronov flew to the site on the orders of President Almazbek Atambayev to take 'all possible measures' to help to families of the dead, according to a statement on the president's website.

Hours later, a second landslide hit a neighbouring village burying three houses. There were however no casualties, the ministry said.

In an emotional address published on the presidential YouTube channel, Mr Atambayev pleaded with villagers to take government advice and leave their homes to resettle elsewhere during extreme weather conditions.

He said: 'The biggest pain in all the trouble that has befallen us is that two or three days ago our compatriots living there did not listen to the specialists and refused to resettle,' said Atambayev, who announced Sunday as a day of national mourning.

'I appeal to my compatriots. A person's life, especially the life of a child, is much more precious than any property, any livestock. You cannot put any sort of property above life.'

He added: 'I'm addressing all my compatriots who don't want to leave dangerous zones: Fear God! Listen to the experts and follow their advice.'

Prime Minister Sooronbai Jeenbekov visited Ayu village after the landslide and said the government would provide 'all necessary assistance'.

In an emotional address published on the presidential YouTube channel, Mr Atambayev pleaded with villagers to take government advice and leave their homes to resettle elsewhere during extreme weather conditions. He said: 'I appeal to my compatriots. A person's life, especially the life of a child, is much more precious than any property, any livestock. You cannot put any sort of property above life.'

'We profoundly understand that this is our shared tragedy,' he said in comments issued by the government's press service.

The emergencies ministry said its chief Boronov was in charge of organising the evacuation of 40 families living close to the disaster zone and housing them in tents, given the risk of further landslides.

District official Alisher Bakyshev told local media that residents had been ordered to leave by the emergencies ministry in March due to the risk of landslides and 34 families had left their homes - but some later returned.

The landslide is the second tragedy to strike the ex-Soviet country of six million people since the beginning of the year.

In January a Turkish cargo plane crashed into a village close to the country's main airport, killing 39 people.

Ninety-five percent of Kyrgyzstan's territory is mountainous. A landslide in the country's south in 2004 killed 33 people.</s>Kyrgyzstan declares day of mourning for those killed under landslide

April 30 in Kyrgyzstan has been declared a day of mourning for those killed under a landslide in Uzgen town of the country, 24.kg information agency reported.

The corresponding decree was signed Apr. 29 by Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev.

On April 29, 2017, a landslide occurred in Ayuu village of Zerger district in the Uzgen town of Osh region in Kyrgyzstan, resulting in human casualties, the document said.

On the day of mourning throughout the territory of the republic, as well as on the buildings of diplomatic and consular missions abroad, it has been ordered to lower the national flags of Kyrgyzstan.

Cultural institutions and TV and radio companies are recommended to cancel entertainment events and programs on the day of mourning.

The government, together with local authorities, was instructed to provide the necessary assistance and support to the families of the victims.</s>Rescue work under way to recover 24 missing after landslide buries village in southwest Osh region, the government says.

At least 24 people have gone missing after a landslide buried a village in Kyrgyzstan's southwest Osh region, the Central Asian nation's emergency ministry said on Saturday.

The landslide, caused by heavy rains, destroyed eleven houses in the village in Uzgen district of Osh region at around 01:20 GMT on Saturday.

The exact number of people hit by the landslide was unclear, the ministry said.

More than 180 emergency ministry personnel are working at the site to excavate the buried village, according to local authorities.

The press office of the local administration said people in the area received a warning about risks of a possible landslide and were recommended to leave the area.

Those who decided to stay signed papers saying they had been informed about the danger, the press office said.

Since the beginning of the year, at least 25 landslides have been registered in the Osh region, killing six people, Russia's state-run news agency RIA reported.</s>A landslide swept over part of a village in Kyrgyzstan early Saturday, killing 24 people, including nine children, the emergencies ministry said.

 The landslide hit the village of Ayu in the Osh region of the mountainous Central Asian country at around 0640 am (0040 GMT) and covered six houses with inhabitants inside, the emergencies ministry said in a statement. “All 24 citizens of Kyrgzystan, nine of them children, died under the landslide in the south of the country,” emergencies ministry spokeswoman Elmira Sheripova told AFP.</s>A massive torrent of mud came down on the village of Ayu at around 7:20 a.m. (1:20GMT). Sputnik Kyrgyzstan reported citing local emergencies service that 24 people were buried after 11 houses were hit by the landslide.

Rescuers are working at the scene of the disaster, the Central Asian nation's ministry said.
At least 24 people are killed by a landslide in the small village of Ayu in southern Kyrgyzstan.