ALASKA (US), Nov 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least one person is dead and five others are believed to be missing following a “large landslide” in Alaska, officials said.
The landslide was reported along the Zimovia Highway at mile 11 shortly before 9 p.m. local time Monday near Wrangell, a city in the Alaska Panhandle, officials said.
Three homes were determined to be directly in the path of the landslide — two houses on the mountainside and one on the waterside of the highway — according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety. One of the mountainside homes is believed to have been empty at the time, officials said.
Emergency responders from the Wrangell police and fire departments, Alaska Wildlife Troopers and other agencies responded immediately and “started a hasty search to look for survivors,” the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
The body of a deceased female juvenile from the waterside house was located during the search Monday night, according to Alaska Department of Public Safety spokesperson Austin McDaniel.
Five people — three adults and two juveniles — are believed to be missing, McDaniel said. They include two adults and two juveniles from the waterside house, he said.
Search and rescue efforts are ongoing, he said during a press briefing Tuesday afternoon.
A woman who lived on the mountainside of the highway was rescued Tuesday morning and is listed in good condition, McDaniel said.
The Alaska State Troopers are leading the search and rescue effort. The ground search had been briefly paused Tuesday due to the hazardous conditions, though a geologist has since cleared some of the areas of the slide for ground searches to begin, McDaniel said.
The U.S. Coast Guard is also conducting water searches and a drone operator is assisting in the search, officials said.
Residents in the area have been urged to evacuate into Wrangell. About 20 to 30 people have mostly evacuated, officials said.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has declared a state disaster for the landslide.
“We are offering Wrangell all the resources our state has available,” Dunleavy said in a statement. — NNN-AGENCIES
