Beijing, Jan 23 (EFE).- The death toll from an overnight landslide in China rose risen to 31 on Tuesday, the official media reported, after 44 people were buried a day ago in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan.
Over 1,000 troops are currently engaged in the search and rescue operation for those still trapped, and the efforts to search for the missing are ongoing.
Official sources have confirmed that three of the initially missing individuals have been contacted, and they were not in the area affected by the landslide.
Two people have been treated for injuries in the hospital, and 918 residents have been relocated.
The landslide occurred on Monday in Zhenxiong county, in the north of the region, affecting approximately 18 homes situated in a low area between two mountains.
“We were asleep at that time, it was early morning and it was still dark. Suddenly there was a loud noise and the ground shook. It felt like a big earthquake,” a resident of the region told local media Jimu News.
Preliminary investigations, cited by the official Xinhua news agency, indicate that the landslide mass measured approximately 100 meters wide, 60 meters high, and reached an average thickness of six meters.
heavy snowfall throughout Sunday night, causing the roads leading to the affected area to become slippery and impeding rescue efforts.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for greater efforts in the search and rescue mission, as reported by Xinhua. EFE
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