Over 110 missing after landslide engulfs mountain village in China
13 bodies pulled from the rubble as frantic search for survivors continues into the night; young couple and their baby managed to escape the wall of mud in northern Sichuan province
Rescuers are digging through rubble with their bare hands and shovels in a frantic search for survivors after a landslide triggered by heavy rain engulfed a mountain village in the north of Sichuan on Saturday.
Thirteen bodies had been pulled from the disaster site by 8.30pm on Saturday, as rescuers continued their search into the night while heavy rains continued to fall, state broadcaster CCTV said.
The death toll is expected to climb, with at least 112 people from 62 households still missing after the landslide struck the village of Xinmo in Mao county, Diexi township, just before 6am.
Three villagers – Qiao Dashuai, his wife Xiao Chunyan and their 38-day-old baby – managed to escape to safety in time, while a fourth survivor was found but rescuers were still trying to get him out, Agence France-Presse reported officials as saying.
The entire village was buried when some 18 million cubic metres of soil and rock collapsed, Xinhua reported. Rocks rained down from as high as 1.6km across an area spanning 3km.