Xi urges all-out rescue after SW China landslide

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out efforts in rescue and relief work after a landslide in southwest China's Guizhou province left 11 people dead and 42 others missing.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed strengthened disaster prevention measures and protection of people's lives and property.

At about 9:20 pm Tuesday, a landslide lashed a village in the city of Liupanshui of Guizhou province, burying 21 houses.

In an instruction, Xi demanded all-out efforts in searching for those trapped in the landslide, rescuing those injured, properly settling those affected, and consoling families of victims.

He stressed adopting a scientific approach to rescue operations, strengthening disaster monitoring and guarding against secondary disasters.

Noting that heavy rainfall in some parts of the country has posed hidden risks of natural disasters, Xi asked local authorities and relevant departments to strengthen disaster prevention and early warnings in the spirit of maximal responsibility for the people to ensure the safety of their lives and property.

Premier Li Keqiang, in a separate instruction, also required uttermost efforts in reducing casualties and guarding against new geological disasters and secondary disasters.

Li ordered the Ministry of Emergency Management and the Ministry of Natural Resources to guide and assist local authorities in their rescue work, and stressed strengthened prevention measures for disasters, including mountain torrents, landslides and mudslides.

Following the instructions, the ministries have sent a joint working group to guide rescue and disaster relief work, while the National Health Commission has dispatched an emergency medical team to the disaster areas.

The provincial and municipal governments have organized emergency relief, public security, natural resources, health and other rescue forces to carry out on-site search and rescue.