December 2023
NEWS NET
Monster landslide takes multiple lives at Wrangell, Alaska
Six people were dead or missing in the Wrangell landslide. Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities photo
The landslide was reported at 8:51 p.m. Nov. 20 along the Zimovia Highway at Mile 11 south of Wrangell, the Alaska State Troopers said.
Three single-family residences were directly in the path of the monstrous landslide, which careened down from high on a mountainside, bulling across the highway and into Zimovia Strait.
The victims included five members of the Heller family – four of whom were recovered dead with the fifth, a 12-year-old boy, still missing at press time.
The landslide also hit the home of Otto Florschutz and wife Christina Florschutz. She survived, with the body of Otto Florschutz located and recovered 10 days after the slide.
Heavy rains were suspected as a factor in the landslide.
Emergency responders employed planes, helicopters, drones, sonar, and scent detection K-9s in the extensive search for victims.
Otto Florschutz, 65, was a commercial fisherman and had served on Wrangell’s Port Commission, according to media reports. He also ran last year in the special election to replace the late Alaska Congressman Don Young.
– Wesley Loy
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