Dozens dead, 1 still missing after deadly landslide in Fujian, China

World Today

Rescuers carry a body of a victim at the landslide site in Taining County, southeast China’s Fujian Province, May 9, 2016. The death toll has risen to 34 with four people still missing after a deadly landslide.(Xinhua/Zhang Guojun)

Following Sunday’s deadly landslide in Taining County in eastern province Fujian, the search continues for one people still missing. More than a dozen have been rescued, with three in intensive care. Thirty-five bodies have been found.

CCTV’s Hu Nan reports.

The landslide was triggered by days of heavy rain. It hit a hydropower station that was under construction.

After days of heavy rain, devastation came to the the mountainous county of Taining. At about 5 a.m, 100,000 cubic meters of mud and rocks came hurtling down, burying the living quarters at a power plant construction site. Most workers were sound asleep.

What used to be a road is now covered with huge boulders. Suddenly, an alarm sounded, and all personnel had to evacuate, fearing another landslide.

Another urgent task: clear the roads leading to the site so that more help can come.

“Once this road is cleared, it becomes an vital pathway for saving lives. It also allows heavy machinery to pass through,” said Fan Jiaqin, chief of Taining Transport Bureau, said.

More than 600 rescuers and dozens of excavators are on site, working against intermittent rainfalls, mud, and debris to find the missing.

Both President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have ordered rescuers to do everything in their power. A work team led by the State Council was sent to Fujian to oversee and help.

Story by CCTV News