Dozens Feared Buried Alive In Mud Landslide
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Sunday, June 07, 2009
Rescuers are searching for dozens of people feared buried alive after part of a mountain collapsed in a massive landslide in southwest China.
Seventy-four people are missing after the disaster struck on Friday afternoon in an iron ore mining district of the vast Chongqing municipality.
A government spokesman told a televised news conference that the figure included 47 miners and 21 local residents.
The others were four passers-by and two employees from a telecoms company, spokesman Ai Yang said.
Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang arrived at the site early on Saturday to supervise the rescue effort and comfort relatives of the victims.
Eight people have been rescued from the debris and all have been taken to hospital.
Of these, three are seriously injured and one is in a critical condition.
The landslide occurred in the remote mountainous region of Jiwei in Wulong district.
More than 3.5 million tonnes of mud and rock crashed hundreds of metres down into the valley, burying houses and a working mine.
Twenty-seven miners were working in the mine at the time.
Emergency workers are hopeful of rescuing all the miners, unlike the many victims who were above ground when the landslide struck.
"The important task now is to save the 27 miners," Mr Yang said.
Around 1,500 people have joined the rescue effort, including volunteers, professional rescue workers and security forces with dogs.
And an investigation has begun into the cause of the disaster, which also cut power lines and communications in several areas.
In September last year, at least 277 people were killed in a landslide in the northern province of Shanxi when a reservoir holding mine waste collapsed.
Government investigations found the collapse at the unlicensed mine was due to negligence.