34 confirmed dead in mudslide as search goes on for 4 still missing
Print Edition
THE bodies of 34 people killed in a massive landslide in southeast China’s Fujian Province have been pulled from the debris, the rescue headquarters said yesterday.
A total of 41 people were reported missing on Sunday when the landslide, triggered by heavy rain, engulfed a hydroelectric power station that was under construction in Taining County.
Three people were later found alive, and four have yet to be accounted for, the headquarters said.
President Xi Jinping demanded that local officials step up rescue efforts, but persistent rain has made their work more difficult, Xinhua news agency reported.
The incident happened about 5am on Sunday when 100,000 cubic meters of mud and rocks flowed downhill, burying several buildings. The site under construction is an extension of the Chitan hydropower station, an affiliate of Huadian Fuxin Energy Co. Construction began in November 2015.
Armed police arrived at the site at 5pm on Sunday and joined existing rescuers to search those still missing. Teams are working to clear the roads leading to the landslide site after multiple cave-ins.
Boulders, mud and twisted steel bars are scattered around the site. Sniffer dogs are working alongside 600 rescuers to help detect any signs of life from the debris. Dozens of excavators are digging through the pile.
Dozens of ambulances and army vehicles are on standby.
Authorities said precipitation this year in Taining is 35 percent higher than normal. In the 24 hours through 11am Sunday, rainfall was 215mm in some parts of the county.
“We were asleep when the mountains began to jolt very strongly and before we knew it, sand and mud was flowing into our room,” said Deng Chunwu, who survived the landslide by hiding underneath a supporting pole along with three other people in their work camp.
The room was shunted 10 meters by the mud flow, he said.
“It’s been raining all the time for the past couple of days and I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Deng said.
“But the rain last night was more fierce than ever.”
Deng and his roommates were sent to hospital at 9am on Sunday. One of them was critically injured, but the others are stable, according to doctors.
Li Dajiang, a forklift operator with Sinohydro Bureau 12, one of the two construction companies, said he couldn’t sleep or take a break because he hadn’t found any more survivors during the night after saving two injured people from the debris on Sunday.
About 1 kilometer away, Jiang Xiulan’s grain and oil shop stayed open all night. Villagers gathered there to find out information about the rescue.
Some people said that most of those buried were construction workers in their 30s or 40s, and the breadwinners in their families.
“My niece was helping in the kitchen at the construction site when the accident happened. Hope for her survival is dim,” Jiang said.
Despite her sorrow, she was determined to keep herself busy and stayed all night to provide food for the rescuers.
“I want them to have something warm to eat,” she said.
Wang Gang, head of the Xiamen Shuguang Rescue Team, said he had just returned from a quake relief mission in Ecuador.
“We’ve got equipment and skills to help,” he said.
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