Moroccan authorities say 15 people have been killed in a landslide that buried their van under 20 metres of earth, leaving no survivors.

The dead include a six-year-old, according to a local official at the scene of Thursday's tragedy.

Heavy rainfall triggered multiple landslides in the area, blocking a road connecting Casablanca to southern Morocco and hindering rescue efforts.

It took nearly 24 hours for emergency workers to dig out the van. The bodies were dug out overnight and transported to the Marrakech morgue, where the victims' families are now waiting, said the official, who wasn't authorized to be publicly named.

The Interior Ministry announced the deaths Friday, without providing further details. </s> Authorities have so far recovered the bodies of 18 of the victims, including women and children.

Rabat – On the night of Wednesday July 24, in the region of El Haouz (a province in the region of Marrakesh-Safi), a vehicle transporting several people flipped on national road n° 7.

A section of a mountain located between the municipalities of Ijoukak and Asni collapsed on top of the vehicle which was traveling to Taliouine (212 kilometers south of Marrakech).

According to local sources, the passengers were from Casablanca and were heading to Taliouine to celebrate Eid El Adha with their families.

In a press release, the Ministry of the Interior reported that the landslide was due to heavy rainfall in the area a few days before the accident.

More than 6 hours after the accident, the emergency services are still active. Rescue teams are still on-site trying to extract victims’ bodies and find possible survivors.

Ali Tani, a councilor in the rural commune of Tizi N’Test (135 kilometers south-west of Marrakech), explains that Civil Protection officers have so far uncovered 18 bodies.

The authorities have opened an investigation into the incident under the supervision of the Prosecutor’s Office. The 18 bodies were taken to the morgue of Marrakech hospital. </s> A landslide killed 15 people riding in a van in the Atlas Mountains south of Marrakech, Morocco local authorities said on Friday.

The landslide, caused by heavy rain, buried the van on Wednesday evening in the area of Asni.

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The bodies of 11 women, three men and a child were extracted overnight from the van, authorities said in a statement.

The van was carrying passengers from Casablanca to the village of Taliouine, 670 kilometres south of Rabat, witnesses said.

The landslide created a pile of earth and mud 20 meters high that blocked the mountainous road. </s> RABAT (AFP) - Moroccan emergency crews pulled 15 bodies from the mud after a rare summer downpour triggered a landslide that buried a minibus, the authorities said on Friday (July 26).

The victims - eleven women, three men and one child - were found in the bus buried about 20m under the masses of earth and rock dislodged by the rain, local authorities said.

"There are no survivors," they said in a statement.

The official toll comes after public broadcaster 2M reported on Friday morning that 16 bodies had been recovered.

The bus was buried on Wednesday evening when a deluge in the Atlas mountains south of Marrakesh triggered flash flooding.

Images released by the authorities show excavators working to dig a path to the bus, more than 24 hours after it was engulfed by the debris.

A weather alert on Tuesday warned of storms in several provinces in the North African country, which rarely receives summer rains.

Investment in Morocco's road network has largely focused on the main transport arteries and many rural areas can be reached only by dirt tracks that are vulnerable to extreme weather.

Every year, nearly 3,500 people are killed on the North African country's roads. </s> TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranian state TV is reporting that flash floods triggered by heavy rains have killed 17 people and left 20 missing in the country's northwest.

The Saturday report quotes Director General of Crisis Management in East Azarbaijan province, Khalil Saei, as saying: "Rescue teams have found 17 dead bodies after flash floods triggered by heavy rains in the cities of Ajabshir and Azarshahr."

Saei added that Red Crescent workers, air ambulances, police and army forces have been deployed from the early hours of the incident for providing aid."

In September, at least 10 people were killed in flash flooding in Tehran and Hormozgan provinces. </s> Torrential rain has caused a landslide that buried dozens of homes in a village in West Java. Scores of people remain missing, and a young child is among those dead.

At least 15 people have been killed and dozens more are missing after a landslide hit the Indonesian region of West Java on Monday.

The tragedy took place in the village of Sirnaresmi in Sukabumi district shortly before sunset on New Year's Eve.

Tons of mud that poured down from the surrounding hills buried 30 houses in the village.

More than 500 rescuers were sent to the area and retrieved eight bodies and the injured from mounds of mud, including an infant who died in the hospital, disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

Sixty others were evacuated from the area, he added.

Heavy rain, power cuts and rough roads hampered rescuers, and slowed down the movement of heavy machinery to the area.

"The roads are narrow which has caused rescue teams, logistics and ambulances to be stuck in traffic jams," said Nugroho.

Seasonal rains and high tides in recent days have caused dozens of landslides and widespread flooding across much of Indonesia.

In October, more than 20 people died when flash floods and landslides hit several provinces in Sumatra. In June 2016, nearly 50 people died when floods and landslides struck Central Java. </s> At least 4 people have died in flash floods in northern Tunisia over the last few days.Tunisia's Ministry of Interior said Nabeul Governorate was the worst affected area after torrential rain on 22 September. In a statement of 23 September, the Ministry said that one person was swept away by floods in Takilsa, another in Bir Bouregba and 2 people near Bou Argoub.The Ministry of Interior said that 197 mm of rain fell in Nabeul on 22 September.Civil protection teams were required to pump water from over 150 flooded homes. At least 3 people were rescued by emergency services and around 30 were evacuated.The Ministry of Interior said that drainage channels were unable to cope with the volume of water, which soon caused several Wadis (seasonal rivers) to overflow.The Governorates of Sousse, Monastir, Ben Arous and Sidi Bouzid have also been affected by severe weather over the last few days, according to the Ministry of Interior.Two people died in floods in neighbouring Algeria rain last week. Heavy rain caused flash floods in the city of Constantine, Constantine Province in north eastern Algeria on Wednesday 19 September, 2018. Constantine is about 350 km west of Nabeul. </s> JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Authorities say a landslide triggered by torrential rain has killed at least five people and left 38 others missing on Indonesia's main island of Java.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said soldiers, police and volunteers fanned out Tuesday across a damaged village of Sirnaresmi in West Java's Sukabumi district to search the dislodged earth for possible victims.

The mud that rolled from the surrounding hills late Monday buried 30 houses, leaving 61 people displaced.

Nugroho said the rescuers have retrieved five bodies and pulled three injured people from the mud and rushed them to a hospital.

Seasonal rains in recent days have caused dozens of landslides and widespread flooding across Indonesia, a chain of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains near rivers. </s> TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The death toll in flash floods triggered by heavy rains in Iran’s northwest province of eastern Azarbaijan rose to 30 as rescue teams deployed, state TV reported Saturday.

The report said that there are seven people missing in the cities of Ajab Shir and Azarshahr, and that rescue teams are trying to find them. It added five injured people have been hospitalized.

East Azarbaijan Governor’s Office of Crisis Management said that 16 bodies were found in Ajabshir city and 14 in city of Azarshahr.

Director General of Crisis Management in East Azarbaijan province Khalil Saei said that Red Crescent workers, air ambulances, as well as police and army forces have been deployed from the early hours of the morning to provide aid.

In September, at least 10 people were killed in flash floods across the Tehran and Hormozgan provinces.
Heavy rains in Al Haouz Province, Morocco, trigger a landslide, resulting in the deaths of 15 people.