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Nectar Gan

At least 66 people were missing after a mountain landslide destroyed three village homes and 15 dormitories in China's northwestern Shaanxi province early on Wednesday morning.
Up to 1.5 million cubic metres of rock and soil are believed to have rained down from the mountainside onto Shaanxi Wuzhou Mining Company's living quarters in Shanyang county, near the city of Shangluo.
Fourteen people had been rescued by noon, but 66 remained missing, local authorities said. No deaths had been confirmed.
Ten people managed to make their own way out after the landslide occurred at 12.30am, Huashang Daily reported.
"When I heard the sound of rocks tumbling down, I immediately ran out the door. Less than two minutes later, nearly half the mountain collapsed," worker Peng Shaobin was quoted as saying.

Peng said most workers were asleep at the time, so only a few who were on the night shift heard the rocks falling.
When workers started to flee, many could not tell the direction in the dark. Those who made it to safety had run up the mountain, while nearly all those who ran down were buried, survivors said.
Some survivors suffered minor injuries from the falling debris. They were housed in a hotel in town.
CCTV reported that the Shangluo fire department received an alert about the landslide at about 1.47am, more than an hour after it occurred.
Authorities said rescue work was continuing.
More than 700 rescuers, including police officers, firefighters and medical staff, were sent to search for survivors trapped under the debris. People within 3km of the site were moved out.

Rescuers were hampered by persistent rain and confined space, CCTV reported. They also had to clear dirt and rock blocking the valley to stop water pooling and posing a flood threat to neighbouring areas.
The Shaanxi Wuzhou Mining Company, founded in 2004 and controlled by the state-owned Shaanxi Non-ferrous Metals Holding Group, mainly produces vanadium, a malleable metal. According to the company's website, its vanadium products account for 5 per cent of the domestic market.
Zhong village in Shanyang county - where the landslide occurred - is listed on the company's website as one of its vanadium mining sites.
China's mining sector is notorious for its low safety standards and deadly incidents. In September 2008, 277 people were killed in a massive mudslide at an unlicensed mine tailings dam in Xiangfen county in Shanxi province, which neighbours Shaanxi.
 


At least 66 missing as mountain landslide destroys homes in China's Shaanxi province

Rescue workers lead a survivor to safety. Many people were reportedly trapped under the rock and soil in the disaster and more than 700 rescuers have been deployed to search for them. Photo: Imaginechina

Rescuers clean the landslide site in Shanyang county, northwest China's Shaanxi province. Photo: Xinhua

A map showing the location of Wednesday morning's landslide, which has left 40 people missing in Shanyang, in China's Shaanxi province. Illustration: SCMP Graphics

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China

People & Culture

Rescuers search for survivors trapped under debris after part of a mountain collapses on village homes and mining workers' dormitories


At least 66 people were missing after a mountain landslide destroyed three village homes and 15 dormitories in China's northwestern Shaanxi province early on Wednesday morning.


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Rescuers search for survivors trapped under debris after part of a mountain collapses on village homes and mining workers' dormitories

Rescuers search for survivors trapped under debris after part of a mountain collapses on village homes and mining workers' dormitories