Landslide claims 5, 1 still missing

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-11-25  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

FIVE people were confirmed dead and one remained missing after a landslide in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Sunday, the rescue headquarters said yesterday.

The landslide occurred at 11:37am in Fengshan County of Hechi City in northern Guangxi when about 21,000 cubic meters of rock and soil buried 16 buildings, including at least two homes, said county chief Huang Deyi.

At least two tractors, a car and a motorbike were buried in the rubble as the landslide engulfed more than 300 meters of a pivotal highway in the county, he said.

A villager said the site of the landslide was a long deserted quarry. "Rocks occasionally fell down the slope during heavy rain," said a man surnamed Luo. "But we haven't had any rainfall for days. It's strange how such a massive landslide could have occurred."

The local government launched a rescue operation immediately after the accident and had retrieved five bodies by early yesterday, said Xiong Chaofu, county's deputy chief.

He said the dead, one of whom was a woman, included residents and passers-by.