Russia's Avalanche Toll Reaches 17

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, September 23, 2002

Russia's Avalanche Toll Reaches 17

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The death toll of Friday's ice avalanche in the south Russian republic of North Ossetia has been confirmed to reach 17 with more bodies found and scores still missing, North Ossetian Prime Minister Mikhail Shatalov said Sunday.

Searching for victims may take weeks and the tolls may exceed 100 people, Interfax reported, citing Shatalov, who has just returned from the Kobanskoye gorge where the disaster of a glaciercrash occurred.

According to the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry, rescue workers have found five bodies in the avalanche zone. One body wasfound on Saturday and four others on Sunday in the lower part of the crashed glacier piece.

Russian Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu said Sundaythat in the accident 80 people were missing, including 31 local residents and a 49-member film crew led by popular Russian actor-director Sergei Bodrov.

But Shatalov said the number of those missing was 94 after receiving a list from a member of Bodrov's working group who survived the avalanche.

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