There is great anxiety in Yunnan, with the human toll of a landslide looking particularly tragic. This Monday morning, 47 people were buried in a remote and mountainous place in this province located in southwest China, state media said, without immediately announcing any deaths.
The tragedy took place at 5:51 a.m. in the village of Liangshui, located in the canton of Zhenxiong and “47 people from 18 households were buried,” said the Xinhua news agency.
Two hundred rescuers mobilized
“More than 200 residents were urgently evacuated, 10 excavators, 33 fire trucks and more than 200 rescuers were mobilized for search operations,” said public television CCTV.
A video published by New China shows around ten firefighters in orange suits and helmets advancing on what appear to be collapsed concrete blocks and other debris. Images posted by users of the Chinese social network Douyin show a mountain village covered in snow and with houses partly buried by what appears to be a landslide.
Freezing temperatures
Yunnan is a mountainous province, populated by many ethnic groups and one of the poorest in China. The scene of the tragedy is located some 350 kilometers northeast of the provincial capital Kunming. According to the Chinese Meteorological Service, temperatures in Zhenxiong County are currently hovering around 0 degrees during the day and dropping to -4 degrees at night.
Landslides occur regularly in mountainous southwest China, especially after rainfall. No reason has yet been given for this Monday’s tragedy.