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China landslide: at least 15 dead and more than 100 feared buried
China landslide: more than 100 people feared dead in village disaster
(about 11 hours later)
At least 15 people have been killed and about 100 are believed to be buried in the debris after a landslide in south-west China’s Sichuan province.
More than 100 people were feared dead after a landslide buried more than 100 villagers in south-west China’s Sichuan province.
Chinese state media announced on Saturday that more than 60 homes had been covered in mud and rubble as dawn broke in Xinmo, a remote village in north Sichuan.
Chinese state media said more than 60 homes were covered in rock and mud in Xinmo, a remote village in north Sichuan.
The debris slid 800 metres (half a mile) down a steep slope to block a 2km stretch of river and 1.6km of road, according to the official state news agency, Xinhua. More than 1,000 workers were involved in the rescue effort, including more than a hundred medical staff.
The debris slid half a mile down a steep slope to block a stretch of river and of road, according to Xinhua. A rescue effort was launched involving more than 1,000 workers.
Xinhua, quoting rescue headquarters, said 15 bodies had been retrieved from the debris by Saturday night. More than 120 people were believed to have been buried, it said. Geological experts at the site said the chances of them surviving were slim, Xinhua said.
Xinhua, quoting rescue headquarters, said 15 bodies were retrieved on Saturday, with 120 more people believed to have been buried.
The state broadcaster, CCTV, reported that by midday local time only three people had been pulled alive from the rubble – a couple and their two-month-old baby. Another child from the same family remained buried.
The state broadcaster, CCTV, reported three people were pulled alive from the rubble: a couple and their two-month-old baby. Another child from the same family remained buried.
Photos from the official People’s Daily showed rescue efforts, which involved more than 400 people, continuing after nightfall using torches. It said rescuers were trying to reach two people they believe they had heard trapped beneath the rubble.
Photos from the official People’s Daily showed rescuers working into the night using using torches and trying to hear anyone trapped beneath the rubble. Water thick with mud flowed over the site, submerging a car pushed from the road, while police and residents pulled on ropes to try to dislodge large boulders.
State television reports showed villagers and rescuers scrambling over mounds of mud and rocks that had slid down the mountainside. Water thick with mud flowed over the site, submerging a car pushed from the road, while police and residents pulled on ropes to try to dislodge large boulders.
Police closed roads in the county to all traffic except emergency services, the news agency said.
Police have closed roads in the county to all traffic except emergency services, the news agency said.
Wang Yongbo, a local rescue official, told CCTV an estimated 3m cubic metres (105m cubic feet) of earth and rock had come down.
Wang Yongbo, a local rescue official, told CCTV an estimated 3m cubic metres (105m cubic feet) of earth and rock had fallen.
There is an extensive network of dams in the area, which is close to the region of Tibet, including two hydropower plants in Diexi town near the buried village. Heavy rain caused the landslide, the provincial department of land and resources said, according to Xinhua.
There is an extensive network of dams in the area, which is close to the region of Tibet, including two hydropower plants in Diexi town near the buried village. Heavy rain caused the landslide, the provincial department of land and resources said, according to Xinhua.
The area is prone to earthquakes, including one in 1933 that resulted in parts of Diexi town becoming submerged by a nearby lake, and an 8.0 magnitude quake in central Sichuan’s Wenchuan county in 2008 that killed nearly 70,000 people.
The area is prone to earthquakes, including one in 1933 that resulted in parts of Diexi town becoming submerged by a nearby lake, and an 8.0 magnitude tremor in central Sichuan’s Wenchuan county in 2008 that killed nearly 70,000 people.
