9 dead, 10 missing injured in SW China landslide

KUNMING - Nine primary school students have been confirmed dead and one person seriously injured after a landslide hit a village Thursday in southwest China's Yunnan Province, local authorities said.

As of 8 pm Thursday, another 10 people were still missing. The disaster occurred at around 8:00 a.m. in the village of Zhenhe, Yiliang County of Zhaotong City, the county government said.

The landslide, estimated to be around 160,000 cubic meters, engulfed 19 people, including 18 students at a Tiantou Primary School building, the government said.

Six residences near the school were also hit by the landslide, with three houses buried.

Yiliang was struck by multiple earthquakes on September 7, which left 81 people dead and 800 others injured.

As the landslide occurred, the students were making up for classes that were delayed after the earthquakes last month, said Liu Lehua, a local education official.

Classes at the school are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. The students who were buried had arrived at the school early, Liu said.

The rescuers are working to reach those who are still trapped by the landslide.

The landslide also blocked a nearby river, forming a barrier lake that is 15 meters wide and seven meters deep.

The government has relocated more than 800 residents living downstream to safer places and mobilized nearly 2,000 people to destroy the barrier lake and aid in rescue work.