MAO COUNTY (Sichuan) • Rescue workers in China pulled bodies out of piles of rock and mud yesterday as they searched for 93 people still missing a day after a landslide buried a mountain village..
MAO COUNTY (Sichuan) • Rescue workers in China pulled bodies out of piles of rock and mud yesterday as they searched for 93 people still missing a day after a landslide buried a mountain village.
A huge landslide crashed down on the village of Xinmo, in mountainous Sichuan province, as dawn broke last Saturday.
The authorities at the scene said yesterday that 10 bodies had been recovered, refuting a report by the Xinhua state news agency last Saturday that 15 people had been killed.
“This is useless, ” villager Han Jianying, searching for missing family members, told Reuters.
“Everyone’s going to be in pieces anyway.”
Heavy rain triggered the landslide, the authorities said. More light showers were likely but were not expected to affect the search, the state broadcaster China Central Television reported.
President Xi Jinping called for rescuers to “spare no effort” in their search for survivors and prevent more disasters.
Rescuers with lights on their helmets and sniffer dogs searched for people through the night as lamps illuminated the grey rubble, according to images on state media.
Around 3,000 workers with life-detection instruments were taking part in the search, Xinhua said.
