Rescue ops over after landslide kills 21 in Gansu
Search and rescue operations have concluded after a landslide in Tanchang county, Longnan, Gansu province, left 21 people dead, local authorities said at a news conference on Wednesday.
The landslide occurred at 6:56 am on Tuesday at a local forestry farm in Renzang village, Nanhe township, trapping 33 workers from the forestry farm who were passing through the area, local authorities said.
Five workers were rescued uninjured, while seven others sustained minor injuries. The injured are receiving treatment at local hospitals and remain in stable condition, authorities said.
Forty geological disaster experts immediately conducted on-site inspections using professional equipment and determined that the landslide measured about 130 meters long, 40 meters wide and 2 meters thick, covering an area of approximately 5,400 square meters, according to Yang Yaoxian, director of the Longnan natural resources bureau.
The accumulated debris was estimated to be 8 to 10 meters thick, with a total volume of about 10,000 cubic meters, Yang said.
He said the landslide was triggered by a combination of factors, including the area's steep terrain, unique geological conditions and erosion at the toe of the slope.
Yang added that the landslide mass remains unstable and poses a risk of secondary slides. Risk-control zones have been established, covering the landslide and surrounding areas. No residents live within the affected zone.
More than 700 rescue personnel, including firefighters and other emergency responders, were deployed, along with four search and rescue dogs and more than 300 vehicles and pieces of equipment, to carry out emergency operations, said Suo Feng, director of the Longnan emergency management bureau.
On Wednesday, China's Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management allocated 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) to support search and rescue, evacuation, emergency geological disaster response and inspections for potential secondary disaster risks in Gansu, according to Xinhua News Agency.
Contact the writers at huqing@chinadaily.com.cn
