Death toll in China landslide rises to 20 with dozens still missing
The death toll from a landslide in China’s Yunnan province climbed to 20 as rescue workers battled freezing temperatures to locate dozens of missing people.
BEIJING — The death toll from a landslide in China’s Yunnan province rose to 25 on Tuesday afternoon as rescue workers battled freezing temperatures and snow to locate dozens of missing people.
Rescuers worked through the night sifting deep mounds of earth at the site of the landslide in Zhenxiong County, state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Tuesday.
One rescuer said large machines cannot be used due to the unstable soil, according to a report from local media outlet The Cover, owned by the Sichuan Daily Newspaper Press Group.
“If the excavation is unloaded below, the top may continue to collapse. It is difficult to carry out large-scale mechanical operations, and it is very difficult to rescue on site,” the worker was quoted as saying in the report.
Military personnel searching through rubble on Monday.AFP - Getty ImagesAfter the landslide hit on Monday, at least 47 people from 18 households were reported missing, CCTV said, adding that 20 of those people were now confirmed dead. Another 24 were still missing and three other people had been accounted for by the rescue team.
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