The number of confirmed victims in a massive landslide in northwest China's Gansu province has reached 21. This was reported by world agencies on Wednesday morning, citing the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. According to data as of 6:30 Bulgarian time, rescue operations at the scene of the incident have already officially ended.
The natural disaster struck in the early hours of Tuesday, shortly before 7:00 local time, in the mountainous county of Tangchang. The earth mass has swallowed a total of 33 people trapped under the rubble and mud.
Thanks to the round-the-clock efforts of emergency teams, by Wednesday morning all the buried people had been pulled out. Of the survivors seven people were injured, with their injuries being minor. Five other people were pulled out completely unharmed.
Who are the victims?
Most of those affected in the valley are residents of the surrounding villages. They were employed as temporary workers at a state forestry company located in the area. Authorities say the mountainous region is extremely vulnerable to such geological disasters because of its steep terrain and rivers that crisscross it. The situation is further complicated by the onset of the rainy season.
Extreme weather across the country
The exact cause of the landslide is still being clarified, but the incident coincides with a series of devastating weather events in China. In recent days, the country has been hit by powerful thunderstorms, floods and, for some regions, rare tornadoes caused by the passage of Tropical Storm “Maysak“.
The Chinese government has already activated emergency disaster response measures and allocated emergency funds for infrastructure reconstruction in the affected areas.