47 Buried in China Landslide, Sparking All-out Rescue Effort
China – A total of 47 people were buried after a landslide struck a remote and mountainous area in southwest China, on Monday (January 22).
The pre-dawn landslide hit Zhenxiong County, Yunnan province, state news agency Xinhua reported. State television station CCTV said about 18 houses were buried, and more than 200 people were evacuated from the area.
Authorities have launched an emergency response involving more than 200 rescue workers as well as dozens of fire engines and other equipment, according to CCTV.
Footage shared on social media by a local broadcaster showed emergency workers wearing orange suits and helmets forming a line.
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- ANTARA FOTO/Aloysius Jarot Nugroho
Other footgaes showed rescue workers digging through a pile of collapsed rocks, where some personal belongings were visible. Authorities have yet to comment on whether anyone was killed in the landslide.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for maximum efforts to rescue the buried victims. "Chinese President Xi Jinping urged maximum rescue efforts," CCTV reported.
The President also demanded that rescue forces be organized quickly and efforts be made to reduce casualties as much as possible, the report added.
He also said that it is important to properly handle the work of comforting the families of the victims and resettling the affected people. CCTV also showed a firefighter trying to remove a villager trapped inside a house affected by the disaster. In addition, the local village chief refused to talk about the landslide citing being too busy.
Landslides are common in Yunnan, a remote and impoverished region of China. The area is a rugged mountain range bordering the Himalayan plateau.
Meanwhile, there has been no official explanation regarding the cause of the landslide that occurred at 05:51 local time. As information, China has experienced a series of natural disasters in recent months, some of which were caused by extreme weather such as sudden heavy rainfall.
In September, a rainstorm in the southern region of Guangxi triggered a mountain slide that killed at least seven people. Heavy rains triggered a similar disaster near the northern city of Xi'an in August, leading to the deaths of more than 20 people.
Then, in June, a landslide in southwestern Sichuan province, also a remote and mountainous area, killed 19 people.
