Rescuers Search for Dozens of Villagers Buried by Deadly Landslide in Southwest China

A landslide in southwestern China on Monday buried dozens of villagers, leaving at least 31 dead, and forced more than 500 others to evacuate, according to reports by state media.

Xinhua News Agency reported that the landslide occurred in a hilly village within Zhaoxiong City in Yunnan province at around 5:51 a.m. local time. The Yunnan Provincial Fire and Rescue Corps immediately dispatched 812 personnel and 45 dogs to begin search and rescue efforts for at least 47 people missing across 18 different households, according to the China National Fire and Rescue Administration’s social media.

China Central Television reported later Monday that two people with injuries were pulled from the rubble and are being treated in hospital.

President Xi Jinping issued instructions calling for the minimization of further casualties, consolation for the families of victims, and resettlement for those affected by the landslide. He also emphasized that as Lunar New Year approaches, a cold snap the country is experiencing can increase the likelihood and severity of natural disasters and other accidents. Xi urged local authorities to screen for potential risks and take necessary precautions to ensure the safety of people and their property.

China’s Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Emergency Management allotted 50 million yuan ($6.94 million) to assist emergency response and rescue efforts, relocation, resettlement, and repairs of damaged buildings.

Experts preliminarily assessed that the landslide was caused by the collapse of part of a nearby cliff, according to Xinhua.

Yunnan and the rest of southern China have been subject to intense and widespread snowfall, according to the National Meteorological Center, as the country faces its first cold wave of the year, with temperatures in some places sinking to below freezing.

Landslides are common in Yunnan, a remote and underdeveloped mountainous region. In January 2013, 46 people died in a landslide in Zhenxiong County. And in October 2012, 19 people—including 18 children—died after a landslide buried a primary school in Yiliang County.

The latest landslide occurred just over a month after China experienced its deadliest earthquake in years on Dec. 18 in the northwestern Gansu province—which left 149 people dead, about a thousand injured, and more than 14,000 homes destroyed.