Rescue workers in southern Russia are shifting through tons of ice and rubble in search of 80 people missing since a massive mudslide engulfed the area yesterday.
Friday night's disaster occurred when a third of the Maili glacier broke free from the Caucasus mountains.
Chunks of ice up to 300 feet thick ripped through the area around Karmadon, practically entombing the village of some 30 people. There is little hope of survivors.
Local officials said 24 bodies had been pulled from the ice, mud and debris which devastated part of North Ossetia, a region on the northern edge of Russia's mountainous border with Georgia.
The Emergencies Ministry in Moscow, however, only confirmed the recovery of five bodies.
Among the missing is 30-year-old Russian screen idol Sergei Bodrov Junior, a cult figure best known for his action movies.
Nine of his 58-member film crew were found alive, the Interfax news agency quoted rescue teams as saying, although the fate of the star remained unknown.
More than 200 people are involved in the hunt for the missing in the mountainous region, with another 300 on standby.