17 dead, 18 missing in China landslide

Beijing: At least 17 people have been buried and 18 others have been declared missing after a landslide unleashed a torrent of 600,000 cubic meters of rock on a village in southwestern China.

The landslide occurred at about 10:40 a.m. Monday in Zhangjiawan Township in Ghuizhou Province, affecting 34 households.

The likelihood of any further survivors is remote as the landslide occurred at 10:40 am yesterday (28th August) at Zhangjiawan Township, Nayong County.The rescue operation has been hampered due to the heavy rain and avalanche of mud and rocks that covered area of over 5,000 square meters.

Over 2,000 personnel`s including police, firefighters and medical staff are at the incident scene. More than 90 emergency vehicles, 20 life detectors, 17 diggers and eight drones were used in the rescue operation, Global Times has reported.

The provincial, city and county governments have allocated 2.5 million yuan (379,100 US dollars) as relief fund.

 The governments have also sent relief, including tents, quilts and rice. A total of 195 people have been evacuated.On Tuesday, a landslide hit a village in neighboring Yunnan Province, leaving three people dead and five injured, authorities said.

The landslide occurred at 9:45 a.m. in Yingpan village in the city of Zhaotong.Guizhou and Yunnan have seen continuous rainstorms over the past week as a result of recent typhoons.