Death toll rises to 13 in SW China landslide

Rescuers conduct rescue work at the landslide site in Shuicheng County of Liupanshui City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, July 24, 2019. The death toll has risen to 13 after a landslide hit southwest China's Guizhou Province late Tuesday, local authorities said Wednesday. As of 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, 13 people had been found dead, another 11 were rescued, and an estimated 32 remained missing. Rescue work is still underway. (Xinhua/Tao Liang)

GUIYANG, July 24 -- The death toll has risen to 13 after a landslide hit southwest China's Guizhou Province late Tuesday, local authorities said Wednesday.

As of 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, 13 people had been found dead, another 11 were rescued, and an estimated 32 remained missing. Rescue work is still underway.

Rescue forces will never give up hope and will spare no effort in their search and rescue work, said the emergency rescue leadership.

At about 9:20 p.m. Tuesday, a landslide lashed a village in Shuicheng County of Liupanshui City, burying 21 houses. More than 50 people were living in the affected area when the landslide struck, according to rescuers.

Zhao Qingqiang, Shuicheng's county head, said that investigations were being carried out with the utmost care and precision in the landslide-affected areas, while relocation work was proceeding smoothly.

The Ministry of Emergency Management said Wednesday that it immediately activated an emergency response for the landslide and sent a work team to the site to assist the local government in disaster relief.

The ministry called for intensified geological and meteorological monitoring to prevent secondary disasters, and efforts to ensure the safety of rescuers.

Guizhou issued a top-level geological hazard emergency response at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

Currently, nearly 1,000 professional rescuers, including fire fighters, medical workers and traffic police, are searching the site for the missing.

"We started the rescue work as soon as we arrived at the site around 5 a.m. Wednesday," said Gou Zhong, leader of a rescue team. Gou said rescuers are equipped with life detection instruments and camera-based detectors.

The volume of the landslide is estimated to be more than 2 million cubic meters.

So far, more than 20 large-scale excavators and over 100 rescue vehicles have been sent to the site. Rescuers also set up more than 100 tents to help with the rescue work. Relief goods including food and medicine have also been sent to the site.

Another landslide struck a construction site in a village in Hezhang County, Guizhou Province, at around 4 p.m. Tuesday, leaving one dead and six others missing, according to the county government.