Beijing, Aug 2 (dpa/GNA) – The death toll from a massive landslide in south-western China has risen to 51, nearly two weeks after the disaster struck, state media reported late on Thursday.
Ten people remain missing after the landslide in a suburb of the metropolis of Chongqing, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing local authorities. The previous official toll stood at 41 dead and 20 missing.
The landslide struck on July 17 in Pengshui County, which falls under Chongqing’s administration. Following heavy rainfall, huge masses of earth and enormous boulders broke away from a hillside, burying more than 10 residential buildings.
The debris was swept into the Wujiang River at the foot of the slope. Authorities said search operations on land had now been completed, after days of rescue efforts by firefighters and disaster response teams. The search for victims in the Wujiang River is continuing.
Heavy summer rainfall regularly triggers floods and landslides across China, where such disasters repeatedly claim lives.
GNA