Death toll in landslide in southwest China rises to 20

Beijing/Kunming: The death toll from a landslide that struck southwest China's mountainous Yunnan province has climbed to 20, with 24 people still missing, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The landslide occurred in Liangshui Village in the city of Zhaotong at about 6 am on Monday, trapping a total of 47 people.

At least 20 people have been found dead, while 24 others remain missing, state-run CGTN news channel reported.

The Ministry of Emergency Management upgraded the emergency response level to the second-highest level from the Level-III emergency response for disaster relief activated by the Provincial Commission for Disaster Reduction immediately after the landslide.

The ministry dispatched teams to the disaster-hit area to guide the rescue and relief work, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

The Chinese government has allocated funds totalling 50 million yuan (about $7 million) to support disaster relief and emergency rescue work focusing on search and rescue, the relocation of affected people, secondary disaster detection, the repair of damaged homes, and other areas, the report said.

More than 1,000 rescue workers equipped with 45 rescue dogs and 120 vehicles, including excavators, loaders and transport vehicles, were carrying out search and rescue work at the site.

As many as 33 firefighting vehicles and 10 loading machines were also mobilised to search for the missing.

Preliminary investigation by an expert group determined that the landslide was triggered by the collapse of a steep cliff-top area, said Wu Junyao, Director of the Natural Resources and Planning Bureau of Zhaotong.

The collapsed mass was approximately 100 metres wide and 60 metres tall, with an average thickness of around 6 metres, the report quoted him as saying.

Following the disaster, local authorities are also assisting those affected, ensuring proper support and settlement measures are in place.

Over 200 tents, 400 quilts, 600 cotton coats and 14 sets of emergency lighting equipment were provided to those affected. A total of 213 residents have also been evacuated to safer locations.

The government has also deployed the military and militias for the rescue operation. A total of 104 militia members in Zhenxiong County were also mobilised.

On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered an all-out search and rescue of the people missing in the landslide.

"[We should] promptly organise rescue teams, make all-out efforts to search for missing individuals, and minimise casualties to the greatest extent possible," Xi said.

Situated in the cold mountainous region of the province, where snow persists for days, the rescue site remains covered in a thick layer of snow.

The rescue officials outlined the primary search area through a comparative analysis of images before and after the disaster, determining the locations of the buried houses, the report said

"According to the arrangements of shifts by the headquarters, the search and rescue efforts persist through the night," said firefighter Li Shenglong.

Numerous residents from nearby villages also rushed to the scene to provide support, the report said.