13 avalanche victims identified in North Ossetia - 2 October, 2002

Thirteen of the 16 bodies found under the avalanche in North Ossetia have been identified, the Russian emergencies ministry reported on Tuesday. The authorities are still trying to identify the remaining three victims of the September 20 calamity.

In the meantime, 135 people including 24 members of filmmaker/actor Sergei Bodrov's filming crew are still listed as missing. Rescuers keep scouring the territory adjacent to the tunnels, where there might be people.

Over the past 24 hours, pyrotechnists staged two explosions to clear the path leading inside of the first tunnel. All in all, rescuers have resorted to explosives 19 times.

The search effort involves 393 people, 95 units of equipment, and a helicopter.