64 people missing in China landslide presumed dead

The 64 people missing after a massive landslide in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province were presumed dead on Sunday, after rescuers failed to detect life at the site four days after they were buried under about 1 million cubic metres of mud.

Rescuers conducted a detailed search through the debris in <g data-gr-id="20">Shanyang</g> County, but couldn’t find any survivors, said Guo Lianfeng, a <g data-gr-id="21">fire fighter</g> at the site. Guo said the huge volume of mud and rubble, combined with the risk of a second landslide, had hindered the search, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The 64 people, 48 male and 16 female, were listed missing <g data-gr-id="18">fter</g> more than 15 dormitories and three houses owned by Wuzhou mining company were buried under about 1 million cubic metres of mud in the mountainous county of <g data-gr-id="19">Shanyang</g> late Wednesday.

The missing also included seven minors, aged <g data-gr-id="17">from from</g> eight months to six years, and were local villagers, workers of the mining company and their families, and workers of two other construction teams.

After the landslide, 10 people managed to escape on their own and four others were dug out by rescuers.