Society

Landslide death toll reaches 23

By Lu Hongyan and Ma Lie (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-12 06:58

Rescuers from the armed police carry the body of a victim who died in a landslide in Zizhou county, Shaanxi province, on Thursday.[Tao Ming/Xinhua]

YULIN, Shaanxi: The number of people killed in a landslide in Shaanxi province has risen to 23, with six people still listed as missing.

Ji Youbo, an official with the government of Zizhou county, Shaanxi province, said rescue workers removed more bodies from the collapsed houses today.

The disaster happened at about 1:30 am on Wednesday, and left 44 people in 15 houses buried under thick earth in Shuanghuyu village.

"We have now found a total of 33 people in houses destroyed by the landslide, and six of those people were uninjured and eight are still being treated in a local hospital," Ji said.

Wang Xiongwei, a senior doctor at the hospital treating the injured people, said all of the patients are in stable condition and three suffered broken bones.

Jing Wenmei, 42, said that she was playing an online game on her computer at the time the landslide hit, and that it sounded like a large explosion.

"I soon woke up my son and we broke the window glass so we could get out of the house. I broke my collar bone but my son was only slightly injured," Jing said from her hospital bed.

According to Ji, the land administrative department has ruled that the landslide was a natural disaster and most likely caused by recent snowfall on the mountain.

"There was snowfall recently in our county and the slope is near a river, so heavy snow and water may have caused the landslide," Ji said.

The official said it had been believed that the mountain was not at risk of landslide and the local government had not received any reports of abnormalities from farmers.

Zhang Haiyan, 37, whose wife and 6-year-old daughter died in the disaster, and who broke his back, said he and his neighbors found some sections of earth had recently broken away from the slope but they had paid little attention.

The local government has agreed to pay 7,000 yuan ($1,025) in compensation per fatality to victims' families and to house survivors in local hotels until permanent accommodation can be organized.

A total of 152 people from 46 households have been moved to temporary accommodation and another 139 people whose houses were near the landslide have gone to live with relatives, the local government said.

The rescue work continues.