Hope fades in desperate search for survivors
Source: Xinhua/Shanghai Daily |
August 10, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
RESCUERS and relatives were frantically digging through mud and wreckage yesterday in a search for more than 1,100 people missing after landslides struck northwest China's Gansu Province a day ago.
The death toll from the disaster in Zhouqu County nearly tripled to 337 - a count mostly likely to mount - making it the worst single such incident in a year of grim floods.
Nearly 1,500 people have already died in landslides and flooding caused by months of torrential rain across the country, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.
Rescuers and locals with shovels, hoes and ropes spread out over more than 2 kilometers of devastated land to burrow into homes engulfed by the torrent of mud and floodwater that swept down from slopes around Zhouqu early Sunday morning.
"There are around 20 of my family members under there," said Zou Jianglian, who had rushed from nearby Wuwei town to search for her missing mother, father, younger brother and other relatives.
Relatives of the 1,148 people officials say are still missing in Zhouqu trekked into the disaster zone, some helping with excavation efforts, others watching in desperate hope.
Rescue work was in full swing yesterday but the results were almost always despairing. In Beijie Village alone, at least 25 bodies were retrieved in the morning.
"We used 40 packs of disinfectant within three hours," said Yang Yuqiong, a local doctor. "We encouraged people to cremate the bodies of their deceased family members as soon as possible but many people want to keep the old custom of burying."
In Yueyuan Village, about 90 percent of its 500 residents from 90 families died or missing in the disaster, said Fang Jianjun, deputy head of the Chengguan Township government.
Hopes rose when a 74-year-old woman, Yang Jinfeng, was found alive yesterday morning. She had been trapped in an apartment on the fourth floor rather than the low buildings almost obliterated by rocks and sludge.
In the worst-hit village, not a single structure was intact, although rescuers said they had not given up hope.
"There are probably eight people buried under this site," said a soldier, Luo Siyuan, who was helping dig for survivors in Zhouqu.
Barrier lake
"They might not be able to survive after such a long time, but we will not give up on them."
Premier Wen Jiabao visited Zhouqu, still two-thirds underwater, for a second day and shouted at rescuers and survivors not to give up, state television news showed.
"We're saving you!" he shouted into the wreckage. "Is a child still down there? Take good care of the child!"
He said the key tasks were expanding the scope for search and rescue, dealing with a barrier lake formed by the landslides, clearing up the debris and ensuring drinking water supplies.
Hoping to prevent further disasters, demolitions experts set off charges to clear debris blocking the Bailong River upstream from the ravaged Zhouqu. The blockage had formed a 3-kilometer artificial lake on the river that overflowed before dawn on Sunday, sending deadly torrents crashing down onto the town.
Experts said the landslide, which carried mud and rubble over 5 kilometers, could have been caused by earth made vulnerable to heavy rain by a recent drought and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake that may have loosened the mountainside.
The Ministry of Commerce has ordered supplies of relief materials to the county, including 16,700 tents, 110,000 blankets, 222,000 cotton coats, 333,000 electric torches and 4 million candles. Also on their way are 435,000 boxes of mineral water and other food supplies.
The death toll from the disaster in Zhouqu County nearly tripled to 337 - a count mostly likely to mount - making it the worst single such incident in a year of grim floods.
Nearly 1,500 people have already died in landslides and flooding caused by months of torrential rain across the country, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.
Rescuers and locals with shovels, hoes and ropes spread out over more than 2 kilometers of devastated land to burrow into homes engulfed by the torrent of mud and floodwater that swept down from slopes around Zhouqu early Sunday morning.
"There are around 20 of my family members under there," said Zou Jianglian, who had rushed from nearby Wuwei town to search for her missing mother, father, younger brother and other relatives.
Relatives of the 1,148 people officials say are still missing in Zhouqu trekked into the disaster zone, some helping with excavation efforts, others watching in desperate hope.
Rescue work was in full swing yesterday but the results were almost always despairing. In Beijie Village alone, at least 25 bodies were retrieved in the morning.
"We used 40 packs of disinfectant within three hours," said Yang Yuqiong, a local doctor. "We encouraged people to cremate the bodies of their deceased family members as soon as possible but many people want to keep the old custom of burying."
In Yueyuan Village, about 90 percent of its 500 residents from 90 families died or missing in the disaster, said Fang Jianjun, deputy head of the Chengguan Township government.
Hopes rose when a 74-year-old woman, Yang Jinfeng, was found alive yesterday morning. She had been trapped in an apartment on the fourth floor rather than the low buildings almost obliterated by rocks and sludge.
In the worst-hit village, not a single structure was intact, although rescuers said they had not given up hope.
"There are probably eight people buried under this site," said a soldier, Luo Siyuan, who was helping dig for survivors in Zhouqu.
Barrier lake
"They might not be able to survive after such a long time, but we will not give up on them."
Premier Wen Jiabao visited Zhouqu, still two-thirds underwater, for a second day and shouted at rescuers and survivors not to give up, state television news showed.
"We're saving you!" he shouted into the wreckage. "Is a child still down there? Take good care of the child!"
He said the key tasks were expanding the scope for search and rescue, dealing with a barrier lake formed by the landslides, clearing up the debris and ensuring drinking water supplies.
Hoping to prevent further disasters, demolitions experts set off charges to clear debris blocking the Bailong River upstream from the ravaged Zhouqu. The blockage had formed a 3-kilometer artificial lake on the river that overflowed before dawn on Sunday, sending deadly torrents crashing down onto the town.
Experts said the landslide, which carried mud and rubble over 5 kilometers, could have been caused by earth made vulnerable to heavy rain by a recent drought and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake that may have loosened the mountainside.
The Ministry of Commerce has ordered supplies of relief materials to the county, including 16,700 tents, 110,000 blankets, 222,000 cotton coats, 333,000 electric torches and 4 million candles. Also on their way are 435,000 boxes of mineral water and other food supplies.
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