Berlin - There is no possibility of finding the three missing victims of a landslide in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt alive, or of retrieving their bodies, rescue workers and state authorities said Monday. A married couple, aged 48 and 51, and another man aged 50 have been missing since Saturday, when their homes collapsed into a lake in a former coalmine on the edge of Nachterstedt, some 170 kilometres south-west of Berlin.
An underground search unit of the Bundeswehr (army) had been deployed to the area Monday, but decided that reaching the site where the victims were thought to be was not possible.
Saxony-Anhalt's Interior Minister, Ruediger Erben, said at a press conference in the village that it would "not be technically possible, and would be irresponsible, to send rescue services in."
The village remains sealed-off, as further cracks in the ground were discovered Monday, raising fears of a further collapse.
"Further ruptures can't be ruled out," said a spokesman of the company formerly in charge of the mine area, Lausitzer und Mitteldeutsche Bergbauverwaltungsgesellschaft (LMBV).
A thermal-imaging camera had been brought in overnight, but yielded no sign of the missing people.
Around 4.40 am (0240 GMT) on Saturday morning a 350-metre wide tract of ground suddenly fell some 100 metres into the lake, leaving a highly unstable cliff with homes, some ripped in half, perched on the edge.
Experts suggested Monday that a rise in ground-water levels at the site could have been a cause of the event.
The 19th-century mine had been expanded by East German authorities until the collapse of the communism system led to the closure of outdated, uneconomic industries.
LMBV initially suggested heavy overnight rain might have caused the slip, but later said that only speculation was possible at present.
Some residents of the town near the landslide site were allowed back into their homes Monday for a strictly limited 30 minutes, in order to collect personal belongings.
Resident Norbert Pullner said "I just grabbed randomly. Bank papers, ID cards, pension documents. I couldn't think straight."
Helga Tuebke, a neighbour of a couple who lost their home in the landslide while they were on holiday, told the German Press Agency
