Mudslides kill 7 in Tajikistan

Mudslides happen every spring in the central Asian nation

Mudslides in Tajikistan killed seven people and left 40 missing on Friday when heavy rain hit the Central Asian republic, its emergency committee said.

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The mudslides, which happen every spring in the nation, destroyed 200 houses in the town of Kulyab, 195 km (121 miles) south of the capital Dushanbe, said committee spokeswoman Munira Nazariyeva.

Residents described torrents of river water flowing through the centre of town.

"Many people cannot find their relatives, something terrible is happening here," Dilshot Khamidov told Reuters by telephone.

Last May unusually powerful mudslides killed at least 18 people in ex-Soviet Tajikistan.