14 September 2024,   06:44
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Alaska landslide kills 1 person and injures 3 in Ketchikan, authorities say

One person was killed and 3 people were injured by a landslide that prompted a mandatory evacuation in the city of Ketchikan, authorities said, writes NBC NEWS.

Ketchikan Gateway Borough, a regional government body, said that “one of its own”, senior streets maintenance technician Sean Griffin, was killed. He and a co-worker had been sent to clear stormwater drains when the landslide swept them away, the borough said in a statement. It was Griffin’s scheduled day off, it said, but his “commitment to the community” led him to stay on duty, the statement said.

City Mayor Dave Kiffer said earlier that the person who died was driving on an upper bypass next to the hillside when the landslide caught the vehicle. The other person who was in the vehicle remained stable at a hospital, he said.

Three people in total were taken to Ketchikan Medical Center after the landslide, which struck around 4 p.m. Sunday and damaged homes and infrastructure, the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and the city said in a joint statement Sunday. All other people have been accounted for, according to the joint statement.

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