15 bodies found, many missing after landslide in China buries village

BEIJING — Fifteen people were confirmed dead after a landslide struck a village in southwestern China, as rescue teams continued to find more than 100 people believed to be still buried under tons of debris, state media reported early today.

More than 3,000 rescuers were searching the area with life detectors and sniffer dogs, but no new signs of life were found, the Xinhua news agency reported.

“We won’t give up as long as there is a slim chance,” one rescuer said, according to Xinhua.

A government official told the news agency the identities of 118 missing people would be posted on a government website.

The landslide hit the village, located in Maoxian county in Sichuan province, about 6 a.m. on Saturday, blocking a three-kilometre section of a river and burying 1,600 metres of road.

So far, only three members of the same family were able to be rescued from the rubble.

Qiao Dashuai, 26, said that he and his wife woke up to cries of their one-month-old son at about 5:30 a.m., Xinhua reported.

“Just after we changed the diaper for the baby, we heard a big bang outside and the light went out,” said Qiao. “We felt that something bad was happening and immediately rushed to the door, but the door was blocked by mud and rocks.”

An estimated 18 million cubic metres of earth fell onto Xinmo village, Xinhua reported.

China has been experiencing weeks of heavy summer rains that have caused extensive flooding and triggered landslides.