Hundreds of rescuers hunt for survivors after landslide kills 15 in southwestern China

Hundreds of rescuers are hunting for survivors today after a massive landslide in southwestern China that killed at least 15 people.

Half of a 600-metre high knoll near Fuquan city in the southwestern province of Guizhou broke free and “wiped out a majority of the village” at its  base, the official Xinhua news agency said.

More than 600 members of specialised search-and-rescue teams were working in a pair of destroyed villages, state media reported.

They came equipped with electronic devices to detect signs of life, as well as large digging machinery and other specialised equipment, the reports said.

At least eight people are still missing and 22 were left injured by the collapse of a mountainside on Wednesday night after three days of heavy rain.

Most of the residents were children or elderly, Xinhua said, as many working-age villagers had moved to the cities.