7 killed, 13 missing after landslide hits northern China’s Shanxi Province
A massive rescue operation with more than 600 people involved is underway Saturday, March 16, 2019, after a landslide hit a residential area in northern China's Shanxi Province, killing 7 people and leaving 13 others missing.
The slide hit the township of Zaoling in Linfen city, Shanxi's Xiangning county at 18:10 local time Friday, burying two residential buildings with a total of 14 households and a public bathhouse.
20 people have been rescued, 7 were confirmed dead and 13 remain missing as of Saturday morning.
Images provided by state broadcaster CCTV showed massive piles of crumbled walls and roofs on the side of a slope. It said some buildings remained intact, while others were reduced to rubble.
The broadcaster said heavy equipment could not be used at the site due to geological conditions, forcing rescuers to dig through the debris by hand.
The event was not caused by excessive rainfall. Dry weather has dominated most of the month across the region, AccuWeather's Adan Douty said.
Featured image credit: CCTV
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