112 villagers missing in worst landslide
beijing — At lEAst 15 pEoplE wErE FounD DEAD AnD 112 rEmAInED mIssInG Hours AFtEr A mAssIvE lAnDslIDE BurIED A mountAIn vIllAGE In soutHwEst CHInA on SAturDAy As rEsCuErs sCourED tHrouGH roCks For survIvors.
A CouplE AnD A BABy wErE rEsCuED AnD tAkEn to HospItAl AFtEr DozEns oF HomEs In tHE vIllAGE oF XInmo wErE swAllowED By BoulDErs wHEn tHE sIDE oF A mountAIn CollApsED, ACCorDInG to tHE loCAl MAoxIAn, or MAo County, GovErnmEnt.
A FourtH survIvor wAs FounD But rEsCuErs wErE stIll tryInG to GEt to HIm Hours AFtEr HEAvy rAIn trIGGErED tHE AvAlAnCHE oF roCk In SICHuAn provInCE, offiCIAls sAID.
Wu XIAoBIn, CAptAIn oF tHE loCAl firE DEpArtmEnt, tolD stAtE BroADCAstEr CCTV tHAt fivE BoDIEs wErE pullED From tHE ruBBlE.
THE EArly mornInG lAnDslIDE, wHICH oCCurrED FollowInG HEAvy rAIns In tHE rEGIon, struCk 62 HomEs AnD BloCkED A two-kIlomEtrE strEtCH oF rIvEr AnD 1.6 kIlomEtrE oF roAD, ACCorDInG to stAtE mEDIA.
REsCuErs usED ropEs to movE A mAssIvE roCk wHIlE DozEns oF otHErs, AIDED By DoGs, sEArCHED tHE ruBBlE For survIvors, ACCorDInG to vIDEos postED onlInE By tHE MAoxIAn GovErnmEnt AnD CCTV.
StAtE tElEvIsIon rEports sHowED vIllAGErs AnD rEsCuErs sCrAmBlInG ovEr mounDs oF muD AnD roCks tHAt HAD slID Down tHE mountAInsIDE. XInHuA sAID tHErE wErE 400 pEoplE InvolvED In tHE rEsCuE Effort AnD 6 AmBulAnCEs wErE At tHE sCEnE, AnD morE wErE on tHEIr wAy.
THE tElEvIsIon ImAGEs sHowED wAtEr tHICk wItH muD flowInG ovEr tHE sItE, suBmErGInG A CAr pusHED From tHE roAD, wHIlE polICE AnD rEsIDEnts pullED on ropEs to try to DIsloDGE lArGE BoulDErs.
BullDozErs AnD HEAvy DIGGErs wErE Also DEployED to rEmovE BoulDErs, tHE ImAGEs sHowED. MEDICs wErE sEEn trEAtInG A womAn on A roAD. HunDrEDs oF polICE, mIlItAry AnD firEfiGHtErs wErE tAkInG pArt In tHE rEsCuE.
THErE Is An ExtEnsIvE nEtwork oF DAms In tHE rEGIon, InCluDInG two HyDropowEr plAnts In DIExI town nEAr tHE BurIED vIllAGE.
MorE tHAn HunDrED pEoplE wErE stIll mIssInG Hours AFtEr tHE lAnDslIDE, CCTV AnD CHInA’s offiCIAl nEws AGEnCy XInHuA rEportED. StAtE mEDIA HAD EArlIEr rEportED tHAt 141 pEoplE mAy HAvE BEEn BurIED But DID not ExplAIn wHy tHE fiGurE HAD BEEn rEvIsED.
WAnG YonGBo, onE oF tHE offiCIAls In CHArGE oF rEsCuE Efforts, sAID tHE vItAl sIGns oF onE oF tHE survIvors “ArE wEAk”. “It’s tHE BIGGEst lAnDslIDE In tHIs ArEA sInCE tHE WEnCHuAn EArtHquAkE,” HE sAID, rEFErrInG to tHE DIsAstEr tHAt kIllED 87,000 pEoplE In 2008 In A town In SICHuAn.
A rEsEArCHEr From tHE CHEnGDu CHInEsE ACADEmy oF SoCIAl SCIEnCE, A stAtE-BACkED tHInk tAnk, tolD CHInA RADIo IntErnAtIonAl tHAt HEAvy rAInFAll proBABly CAusED tHE slIDE. THE rEsEArCHEr, wHosE nAmE wAsn’t GIvEn, Also wArnED oF tHE rIsk tHAt A DAm CoulD CollApsE, EnDAnGErInG CommunItIEs FurtHEr DownstrEAm.
LoCAl polICE CAptAIn CHEn TIEBo sAID tHE HEAvy rAIns tHAt HIt tHE rEGIon In rECEnt DAys HAD trIGGErED tHE lAnDslIDE.
“THErE ArE sEvErAl tonnEs oF roCk” ovEr tHE vIllAGE, HE tolD CCTV.
“It’s A sEIsmIC ArEA HErE. THErE’s not A lot oF vEGEtAtIon,” CHEn sAID.
TrEEs CAn HElp ABsorB ExCEss rAIn AnD prEvEnt lAnDslIDEs.
TAo JIAn, DIrECtor oF tHE loCAl wEAtHEr sErvICE, sAID tHAt tHE 2008 EArtHquAkE HAD “wEAkEnED tHE mountAIn” AnD tHAt “A wEAk rAIn CAn provokE A GEoloGICAl CAtAstropHE”.
PrEsIDEnt XI JInpInG CAllED For rEsCuErs to “spArE no Effort” In tHEIr sEArCH For survIvors, ACCorDInG to CCTV. CHInA’s nAtIonAl wEAtHEr oBsErvAtory sAID morE HEAvy rAIn wAs ExpECtED In pArts oF SICHuAn AnD otHEr soutHwEstErn provInCEs.
LAnDslIDEs ArE A FrEquEnt DAnGEr In rurAl AnD mountAInous pArts oF CHInA, pArtICulArly At tImEs oF HEAvy rAIns. At lEAst 12 pEoplE wErE kIllED In JAnuAry wHEn A lAnDslIDE CrusHED A HotEl In CEntrAl HuBEI provInCE.
In OCtoBEr mAssIvE lAnDslIDEs B At tE rED EAstErn CHI nA In tHE wAkE oF torrEntIAl HEAvy rAIns BrouGHt By TypHoon MEGI, CAusInG wIDEsprEAD DAmAGE AnD kIllInG At lEAst EIGHt. —
It’s the biggest landslide in this area since the Wenchuan earthquake