Firemen search for survivors at the site
where a landslide occured earlier in the Jiwei Mountain area, in Tiekuang
Township, about 170 kilometers southeast of the downtown area, southwest
China's Chongqing Municipality, June 5, 2009. At least 80 people were
feared buried in the landslide at an iron ore mining area in Chongqing
Municipality on Friday, according to the local government.(Xinhua/Jiang
Yong) Photo
Gallery>>>
CHONGQING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- More than 500 rescue
workers were shifting landslide rubble Saturday morning in a bid to rescue 79
people buried in the rubble and 27 miners trapped in southwest China's
Chongqing.
Helicopters were brought in to find the missing, but
heavy machinery is not able to reach the site because of unsafe terrain.
An estimated 79 residents and passers-by as well as
27 miners were buried beneath the landslide, which destroyed 12 houses and
buried the mine, Liu Jianchun, a government spokesman with the rescue work, told
Xinhua.
The debris covered an area of 600 meters long and 300
meters wide in a valley on Jiwei Mountain.
Some houses are now buried 40 meters beneath the
slide. There are also possibilities of secondary disasters, as large rocks are
resting on unstable mountain slopes, said Jiang Yong, a rescuer with the armed
police.
The weather forecast predicted rain Saturday evening.
A team of fire fighters await orders
before rescue near the site of landslide at an iron ore mining area in
southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, southwest China, June 5, 2009.At
least 80 people are feared buried in the landslide in Chongqing on Friday,
according to the local government. Rescuers had pulled out seven injured
people, including four seriously hurt, from the debris as of 8:30 p.m.,
according to the publicity department of Wulong County, the site of the
accident.(Xinhua/Liu Chan) Photo Gallery>>>
Ran Guangmu, an explosive keeper with the iron ore
mine in Wulong County, said he heard a roaring sound at 2:50 p.m. Friday, when
he was 2.5 km from the mine. A minute later, he saw the debris filled the
valley.
A geological investigation led by Chongqing land and
resources authorities found that about 1.5 million cubic meters of Jiwei
Mountain slumped 600 meters. It filled a valley where the Wujiang, a tributary
of the Yangtze River, flows.
The investigation team warned that the debris,
estimated at more than 3.5 million cubic meters, has blocked the river flow and
may form a barrier lake if it rains.
Chen Yuanmei, a farmer, wiped tears away as she told
how her husband Jin Weisheng, aged 35, was among the trapped miners.
According to the rescue headquarters, the people
buried in the debris have almost no chance of survival, but there is hope for
the 27 miners trapped in the mine.
Seven people were pulled from the debris Friday
evening, and three are in critical conditions in hospital Saturday morning, said
Qu Qian, director of the Chongqing Municipal Health Bureau.
Another man was injured after he joined the rescue
work. He was also taken to hospital.
Qu said that 27 ambulances and 91 medical workers are
at the site.
The landslide cut off power and communications in
many parts of the town.
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have
ordered the local authorities to spare no effort to save buried or trapped
people.
Caution must be taken to avoid loss of life during
the rescue work, the two leaders said.
Vice-premier Zhang Dejiang arrived at the site at 5
a.m. Saturday to oversee rescue efforts.
Fire fighters load the rescue equipment
onto a pickup near the site of landslide at an iron ore mining area in
southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, southwest China, June 5, 2009.
At least 80 people are feared buried in the landslide in Chongqing on
Friday, according to the local government. Rescuers had pulled out seven
injured people, including four seriously hurt, from the debris as of 8:30
p.m., according to the publicity department of Wulong County, the site of
the accident.(Xinhua/Liu Chan) Photo
Gallery>>>
CHONGQING, June 6
(Xinhua) -- Authorities confirmed Saturday afternoon 74 people were missing and
eight others injured in a landslide in southwest China's Chongqing.
Ai Yang (C), local government spokesman,
attends a press conference in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality,
June 6, 2009. Authorities confirmed Saturday afternoon 74 people were
missing and eight others were injured in the landslide. Among the missing
were 21 local residents, 47 workers of the iron ore mine where the
landslide occurred, two telecom company workers and four passers-by,
according to Ai Yang. A total of more than 1500 fire fighters and medical
members are fighting to rescue the people who are trapped. (Xinhua/Zhou
Hengyi) Photo
Gallery>>>
Among the missing were 21 residents, 47 workers at the
iron ore mine where the landslide occurred, two telecom company workers and four
passers-by, said Ai Yang, a government spokesman, at a press conference.
Full story
Firemen search for survivors at the site
where a landslide occured earlier in the Jiwei Mountain area, in Tiekuang
Township, about 170 kilometers southeast of the downtown area, southwest
China's Chongqing Municipality, June 5, 2009. At least 80 people were
feared buried in the landslide at an iron ore mining area in Chongqing
Municipality on Friday, according to the local government.(Xinhua/Jiang
Yong) Photo
Gallery>>>
