Car Containing Three Bodies Found Under Avalanche in North Ossetia

A Zhiguli car with three bodies in it was found in North Ossetia in the area covered by the Kolka avalanche. According to a source in the Russian emergencies ministry, the car was discovered near the village of Kani. The bodies were identified with the help of documents found on them. With this discovery, the death toll rose to 16 people; 132 people, including 24 members of the filming team headed by filmmaker Sergei Bodrov, are reported missing.

In the meantime, rescuers have evacuated 104 people from the disaster area. 52 people were evacuated from the village of Staraya Saniba, where 20 houses were flooded by the thawing glacier. By this moment, the rising of the water level has slowed down.

21 million tons of ice, a mass measuring 5 kilometres long, 10 to 100 meters thick and 200 meters wide, came flowing down the river Genaldon, 15 kilometres south of the village of Karmadon, on Friday, September 20th. The glacier came accompanied by 10-12 million cubic meters of mud - a torrent measuring 16.5 kilometres long, 5-10 meters thick, and 50 meters wide. The torrent stopped 6 kilometres south of the village of Gizel, having destroyed a three-story building of the Karmadon holiday home and holiday homes belonging to the North Ossetian State University and the republican justice ministry.