Rescuers raced on Tuesday to find dozens of people still trapped after a landslide struck a remote and mountainous part of southwestern China, killing 12. The pre-dawn landslide buried 18 homes and sparked the evacuation of more than 200 people when it struck in Zhenxiong County, Yunnan province early on Monday. More than 24 hours since the disaster, state news agency Xinhua said rescue workers are now in a \u201crace against time\u201d to find those still missing, after a night of sub-zero temperatures. \u201cSearch and rescue efforts persisted through the night,\u201d firefighter Li Shenglong told Xinhua. Twelve people have been confirmed dead, state broadcaster CCTV reported just after midday. Wu Junyao, director of the natural resources and planning bureau of Zhaotong, told Xinhua that the disaster \u201cresulted from a collapse in the steep cliff area atop the slope\u201d. Two hundred rescue workers have been dispatched to the scene as well as dozens of fire engines and other equipment. The site is covered in thick snow and rescuers are \u201cusing all kinds of tools to search for survivors\u201d, Xinhua reported. Wu told Xinhua the rescuers are digging through collapsed debris of \u201c100 meters in width, 60 metres in height, with an average thickness of around 6 meters\u201d. CCTV showed footage of rescue workers digging through twisted metal and concrete overnight in a bid to find survivors. Other CCTV footage showed locals huddling for warmth around a fire in a shelter, eating instant noodles. People from the surrounding area have chipped into to help with relief efforts, state media said. \u201cOur village is nearby,\u201d Hong Jie, 38, told Xinhua. \u201cOur main focus is on distributing supplies, cooking, and delivering food to those in need.\u201d \u2018All-out efforts\u2019Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered \u201call-out\u201d rescue efforts. Landslides are common in Yunnan, a far-flung and largely impoverished region of China where steep mountain ranges butt against the Himalayan plateau. Monday\u2019s disaster occurred in a rural area surrounded by towering peaks dusted with snow, state media footage showed. There was no immediate official explanation for what may have caused the landslide. Efforts to establish what happened are underway, Xinhua reported. China has experienced a string of natural disasters in recent months, some following extreme weather events such as sudden, heavy downpours. Rainstorms last September in the southern region of Guangxi triggered a mountain landslide that killed at least seven people, according to media reports. In August, heavy rains sparked a similar disaster near the northern city of Xi\u2019an, killing more than 20 people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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