China has launched a huge rescue operation after more than 30 people went missing following a landslide that had buried at least 10 houses.
The tragedy occurred Saturday in Junlian County of the Sichuan Province, which led the Ministry of Emergency Management to deploy hundreds of rescuers and firefighters there. Associated Press cites state broadcaster CCTV as saying two people were pulled from the debris.
Sichuan Province has meanwhile raised its level of geological emergency alert from Level III to Level I, the highest classification according to Xinhua, a state-run news agency. Chinese Premier Li Qiang has directed an investigation into the incident and to assess geological hazards in surrounding districts where the risk of more casualties may occur, thus ordering the evacuation of residents at risk.
President Xi Calls for Full-Fledged Rescue Operation
President Xi Jinping told authorities to do everything possible to find the missing and minimize casualties from the disaster, Xinhua reported. In parallel, the National Development and Reform Commission earmarked 50 million yuan, about $6.9 million from the central budget, to carry out the urgent restoration and rehabilitation of infrastructures and public facilities.
The disaster is an aftermath of consecutive natural calamities in China. Last month, a 5.5-magnitude earthquake shook Qinghai Province near the headwaters of the Yellow River as part of a series of tremors on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. One of them is a 6.8 magnitude quake in Tibet and a lesser 3.1 magnitude one in Sichuan.
More than 35 lives were claimed in 2023 when a landslide swept away an area of the remote mountainous region in southwestern China. This disaster, triggered by the collapse of a steep clifftop area of about 100 meters (330 feet) in width, 60 meters (200 feet) in height, and averaging 6 meters (20 feet) in thickness, swept down Liangshui village in Yunnan Province.
