At least forty-seven people were buried in the landslide

A landslide buried at least 47 people in Yunnan Province, southwest China, on Monday, January 22, according to preliminary estimates, state media reported. The tragedy occurred at 5:51 am (9:51 pm Paris time) in the village of Liangshui, located in Chenxiong Canton. “Forty-seven people from eighteen families were buried.”As announced by the New China News Agency.

“More than two hundred residents were urgently evacuated, ten excavators, thirty-three fire engines and more than two hundred rescuers were mobilized for search operations.”CCTV public television said.

A video published by the New China newspaper shows about a dozen firefighters wearing orange jumpsuits and helmets advancing on concrete blocks and other debris. Images posted on Chinese social media network Douyin also show a mountain village covered in snow and houses partially buried by what appears to be a landslide.

An area prone to landslides

Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered relief efforts “Do everything possible to reduce the number of victims.”According to the instructions reported by CCTV. “It is appropriate to do the work of consoling the families of the victims and settling those affected.”confirmed.

The location of the tragedy is located about 1,600 kilometers southwest of Shanghai, and 350 kilometers northeast of the provincial capital, Kunming. Landslides occur regularly in the mountainous regions of southwestern China, especially after rain. No reason has yet been given for Monday's tragedy.

In September 2023, storms in the Guangxi region (south) caused a landslide in a mountainous area that killed at least seven people, according to the local press. In August, about twenty people died as a result of a landslide following a flash flood in a village near the large city of Xi'an (north). In June, a landslide in Sichuan Province (southwest), which is also mountainous and isolated, killed nineteen people.