The landslide occurred in heavy snow early Monday morning near the city of Zhaotong in Yunnan province while many people were sleeping.
State broadcaster CCTV reports that at least 47 people in 18 households have been buried in the landslide, and that 500 people have been evacuated.
– The mountain just collapsed, and dozens were buried, says an eyewitness to CCTV.
A rescue operation with 200 rescue workers with fire engines and other equipment has been deployed to rescue those who are missing.
Videos on social media show orange-clad rescue workers digging through the remains of buildings with tall snow-capped mountains in the background.
Landslides are not uncommon in Yunnan, a remote and mountainous region of China bordering the Himalayas. Currently, the area is affected by a cold wave with temperatures below zero.
China has been exposed to a number of natural disasters recently. Just before Christmas, 149 people lost their lives in the country’s strongest earthquake in nine years.
Last August, 20 people died in a landslide in Xian, and in June, 19 people died in a landslide in Sichuan province.
2024-01-22 06:52:33
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