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china landslide

At least 140 people are feared buried in a landslide in Sichuan province in south-western China, state media say.

According to local media, about 40 homes were destroyed in Xinmo village in Maoxian county, after the side of a mountain collapsed at about 06:00 local time.

Rescue teams are frantically searching for survivors trapped beneath rocks.

Image source Wikipedia

Pictures posted by the People’s Daily newspaper show bulldozers moving earth and large boulders as the rescue effort continues.

The landslide blocked a 1.2-mile stretch of a river, Xinhua news agency reports, citing local officials.

Local police told state broadcaster CCTV the landslide had been triggered by recent heavy rains in the region and that the situation was made worse by a lack of vegetation in the area.

Roads in the county were closed on June 24 to all traffic except emergency services, the news agency said.

Landslides are a regular danger in mountainous regions of China, especially during heavy rains.

In 2008, 87,000 people were killed when an earthquake struck Wenchuan county in Sichuan province. In Maoxian county, 37 tourists were killed when their coach was buried in a landslide caused by the earthquake.

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Chinese rescue teams are looking for survivors after a landslide hit 33 buildings in the southern city of Shenzhen.

Seven people were pulled from the rubble with minor injuries but 91 are still missing. About 900 were evacuated as the landslide struck on December 20.

Local authorities said a huge man-made mound of earth and construction debris lost stability and collapsed.

Shenzhen is one of China’s biggest and is a major industrial center.

The city is situated in the southern province of Guangdong, across the mainland border from Hong Kong.

The landslide has blanketed a vast area of 380,000 sq m covering it with up to 10m of mud at an industrial park, Shenzhen’s emergency management office said on its official microblog.China landslide Shenzhen

State news agency Xinhua said that the landslide caused an explosion at a natural gas pipeline. Workers have cleaned up about 400m of damaged pipeline and are now repairing it.

China’s land and resources ministry said in a statement on its website that initial investigations showed the landslide happened when a huge mound of soil, cement chunks and other construction waste became unstable.

“Because the mound was very large, and the angle of its slope was overly steep, this led to it losing stability and collapsing,” it said.

According to People’s Daily, the mound had accumulated at a stone quarry that had been converted into a dumping area with its entrance and exit facing an industrial district.

Residents evacuated from the surrounding area described hearing loud roars when the landslide happened.

Amateur footage of the incident broadcast on state television showed waves of red soil quickly engulfing and crushing buildings.

A video taken by an eyewitness and posted online by Beijing Daily newspaper shows plumes of soil shooting up in the air as the mound of earth collapses.

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At least 25 people are confirmed dead after a landslide hit Zhejiang province in eastern China.

More than 2,000 rescuers are searching for survivors in Lidong village after several days of rain sparked a torrent of mud and rock.

The landslide occurred shortly before 23:00 on November 13 and buried almost 30 houses.

Photo Getty Images

Photo Getty Images

Parts of the village remain flooded, hindering rescue efforts. Reports say 12 people are still missing.

Local officials said one person had been rescued so far and is in stable condition.

As well as rescuers, sniffer dogs and machinery, psychologists have also been dispatched to the area to help family members of the victims, local officials said.

Most of the missing people are children and the elderly, according to local media, which also said that compensation had been agreed for those who lost homes in the disaster.