![[Yemen] Deadly landslide in Dhafeer. [Date picture taken: 12/30/2005]](https://assets.thenewhumanitarian.org/s3fs-public/styles/responsive_large_2x/public/images/200512293.jpg.webp?itok=bw-sAX63 "Some 100 people remain trapped under rubble following a devastating landslide near Sana.")
A landslide on Wednesday night killed at least 22 and injured 30 in the remote village of Dhafeer, about 50 km to the west of the capital, Sana, according to local officials.
"About 100 people are still beneath the rubble," Abdulwaheid al-Bukhaitin, governor of the Sana province, told IRIN.
He added that around 100 houses were evacuated due to the fear of further landslides.
The small mountain village is inhabited by some 7,000 people.
Government officials, including Vice President Abdu Rabu Manur Hadi and members of parliament, were supervising the evacuation process.
As ambulances rushed to the scene of the disaster, a state of emergency was declared in the capital’s major hospitals.
“The situation is catastrophic. A number of people are beneath the rubble and the number of deaths is on the rise," Hashi al-Zein, country representative of the World Health Organization, told IRIN. "We’re trying to help evacuate families and provide housing."
UN aid agencies operating in Yemen have also sent teams to the area to assess the situation and help provide relief. Makeshift shelters have been set up on the outskirts of the village.
Rescue efforts have been impeded by enormous boulders that largely prevent the use of digging machinery. "We’re facing a lot of difficulty in pulling the dead from destroyed houses. People are using simple machines to dig people out," al-Zein said.
The governor of Sana has forecast that the search-and-rescue process could last as long as a week to ten days.
In the meantime, survivors have been left in shock.
"I’ve lost all seven members of my family. My brother died with his 15 children and my cousin and her ten children were also killed. What will I do?" asked wailing Dhafeer resident, Ahmed Ahmed Jamil.
"About 100 people are still beneath the rubble," Abdulwaheid al-Bukhaitin, governor of the Sana province, told IRIN.
He added that around 100 houses were evacuated due to the fear of further landslides.
The small mountain village is inhabited by some 7,000 people.
Government officials, including Vice President Abdu Rabu Manur Hadi and members of parliament, were supervising the evacuation process.
As ambulances rushed to the scene of the disaster, a state of emergency was declared in the capital’s major hospitals.
“The situation is catastrophic. A number of people are beneath the rubble and the number of deaths is on the rise," Hashi al-Zein, country representative of the World Health Organization, told IRIN. "We’re trying to help evacuate families and provide housing."
UN aid agencies operating in Yemen have also sent teams to the area to assess the situation and help provide relief. Makeshift shelters have been set up on the outskirts of the village.
Rescue efforts have been impeded by enormous boulders that largely prevent the use of digging machinery. "We’re facing a lot of difficulty in pulling the dead from destroyed houses. People are using simple machines to dig people out," al-Zein said.
The governor of Sana has forecast that the search-and-rescue process could last as long as a week to ten days.
In the meantime, survivors have been left in shock.
"I’ve lost all seven members of my family. My brother died with his 15 children and my cousin and her ten children were also killed. What will I do?" asked wailing Dhafeer resident, Ahmed Ahmed Jamil.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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