At least 47 people were buried when a landslide struck a remote and mountainous part of southwestern China early this morning
State broadcaster CCTV said around 18 households were completely buried by a torrent of falling earth and that more than 200 people were ‘urgently evacuated’ from the area.
Authorities have launched an emergency response involving 200 rescue workers as well as dozens of fire engines and other equipment.
But rescue efforts will be complicated by the freezing and snowy conditions.
Two people had been found dead at the site as of 1:30pm local time (0530 GMT), CCTV said, citing a reporter on the scene.
One local told the state-run Beijing News outlet that she was asleep when the disaster hit and that parts of her ceiling had fallen onto her head.
‘At the time I thought it was an earthquake, but later I knew it was the hillslope collapsing,’ another resident told the outlet.
Footage shared on social media by a local broadcaster showed emergency workers in orange jumpsuits and helmets forming ranks outside a fire station as snowflakes whirled through the air.
Other images showed rescuers picking through towering piles of collapsed masonry in which a few personal belongings could be seen.
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged ‘all-out’ rescue efforts, CCTV reported.
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