News / China

China huge landslide leaves 100 people missing

Monday, 21 December 2015 2:57 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 21 December 2015 3:05 AM ]

Rescuers look for survivors after a landslide hit an industrial park in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province, on December 20, 2015. (AFP)

Nearly 100 people have been reported as missing after a massive landslide in southern China hit an industrial park, burying dozens of buildings, Chinese authorities say.

According to the official Xinhua news agency, the landslide hit Hengtaiyu Industrial Park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province on Sunday morning and buried 33 buildings, leaving 13 people injured with three in serious conditions.

Of the total 91 missing people, 59 are male and 32 female.

The slide ruptured a natural gas pipeline and caused an explosion at the industrial park that was heard up to four kilometers away.

Around 2,000 emergency workers, four drones, and 30 search dogs were involved in rescue ops as some 900 people were evacuated before the landslide struck, the Shenzhen Evening News said.

Of the 33 toppled buildings, three of them were worker dormitories, the report further said, adding that rescue operation was under way in the face of unfavorable geological conditions.

“The site is quite narrow and is located on a ramp, so it is very difficult for vehicles to enter. We have to go there on foot,” said Ao Zhuoqian from Shenzhen's fire control department.

Rain, low nighttime visibility, and the immense amount of deep mud and rubble, among others, are obstacles that impeded the rescue efforts, Ao added.

Witnesses described the scene as a mass of red earth and mud rushing towards the park before burying or crushing homes and factories.

"I saw red earth and mud running towards the company building," one local worker said.

President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang ordered immediate rescue efforts and almost 100 fire trucks plus sniffer dogs, drones and other equipment were deployed in the area.

It is not yet clear what caused the landslide, which covered the area with a sea of red-brown soil as thick as six meters.

Last month, a similar slide claimed the lives of 38 people in China’s eastern Zhejiang province.

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