A search and rescue helicopter flies past a section of a landslide Saturday, July 14, 2012 that buried three homes and has left four people unaccounted for in Johnsons Landing, B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
July 15, 2012 - 2:45 PM
JOHNSON'S LANDING, B.C. - Geotechnicians are keeping a close eye on the weather as crews resume their search for four people believed to be buried in a huge landslide in British Columbia.
Bill Macpherson of the Central Kootenay Regional District says the slope was deemed stable enough this morning for rescue workers to head back out to the tiny community of Johnson's Landing.
But he says conditions are deteriorating and there's a chance the efforts could be called off later today if the site shows any sign of sloughing or movement.
Dozens of personnel are conducting a grid-style search using G-P-S mapping.
About 40 people armed with heavy equipment worked until dusk Saturday, though crews didn't get out to the site until later due to heavy rains that made the area unsafe.
Police dogs are also expected to return to the site today.
At least three homes were crushed by the slide in the tiny hamlet northeast of Nelson on Thursday.
Lynn Migdal, who now lives in Florida, has identified the missing as her 17- and 22-year-old daughters Rachel and Diana Webber, along with her ex-husband Val Webber.
A female German tourist is also believed to have been caught in the debris.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012