Part of rescuers being evacuated as 93 still remain missing in landslide
Part of the rescuers searching for victims trapped in a landslide in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province were ordered to be evacuated after risks of a secondary landslide were forecast Monday morning, said local authorities.
The Sichuan provincial work safety bureau issued the order at 11: 10 am on Monday after radar monitoring found movement and deformation on the hillside in Maoxian county, where the landslide occurred on Saturday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
“Apart from those evacuated, other rescue workers are continuing their search efforts,” Bai Yingchun, a media staffer at Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, which administers Maoxian county, told the Global Times on Monday.
On Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping asked relevant authorities to make maximum efforts to reduce casualties and be prepared for possible secondary disasters.
The landslide engulfed 62 homes in Xinmo village in Maoxian on Saturday morning, blocking a 2- kilometer section of river and burying 1,600 meters of road.
According to the Publicity Department of Maoxian, 10 people were confirmed safe after the government released a list of 118 missing people. The number of missing people had dropped to 93 as of press time.
According to the government, 302 people have been relocated to neighboring villages and hotels. Relevant relocation spots which are scattered over the area have also been set up by authorities.
Daily necessities including food, drinking water and quilts have also been given out to the people affected by the disaster.
Six working groups have been formed to offer psychological counseling for people in need, as well as to deal with the work related with reception and compensation, Zhang Ya, director of Maoxian’s Publicity Department, told the Global Times.
The Sichuan government has also launched the highest level of disaster relief response and sent rescue teams to the site immediately after the accident.
Sniffer dogs and life- detection equipments have also been deployed to search for possible survivors. More than 3,000 rescuers have been engaged in the search for the missing in the debris since Sunday.