The death toll from a massive flood that devastated a village in southern Kazakhstan has soared to 35, the country's president said Saturday. A privately owned dam at a reservoir in the eastern Almaty region neighboring China ruptured Thursday evening, unleashing torrents almost 2 meters (6.5 feet) high and completely destroying Kyzyl-Agash, a village of 3,000 people. President Nursultan Nazarbayev said at a government meeting that the owner of the dam could face prosecution for failing to take adequate safety measures in preparation for the spring floods, according to a report of The Associated Press. Authorities said more than 600 emergency workers have reached Kyzyl-Agash to help clear the debris and that police have been posted at the entrance to the village to prevent looting. Emergency Services Minister Vladimir Bozhko is leading an operation to assess the scale of the damage. By Friday evening, emergency workers had erected tents for 1,000 people near Kyzyl-Agash. Around 700 people have been evacuated to temporary accommodation in the regional capital, Taldykorgan, and a further 300 have been taken to the nearby village of Sagabien. Prime Minister Karim Masimov traveled Friday evening to Taldykorgan to personally supervise rescue efforts. «We need to have understanding for the situation of the victims _ they have suddenly been left without homes, money and documents,» Masimov said in a government statement.
