More than 140 people have been reported missing after a landslide covered Xinmo village of China’s Sichuan province.
This is according to Chinese media who reported that that the landslide occurred at 6.00am Chinese (1.00am EAT) time on Saturday .
According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, 40 homes and approximately 1.6 kilometers of road were covered in the debris which is believed to crumbled as a result of heavy rain in the area.
Earlier, the Chinese national metrological department had warned that the area would receive heavy rains on Saturday and Sunday.
“On Saturday and Sunday, heavy rain is expected in parts of Sichuan, Chongqing, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Yunnan, Zhejiang and Jiangxi,” The NMC wrote in a statement.
It was reported that most of the villagers were asleep when mud caved in however some families managed to escape.
Chinese news Agency Xinhua news reported that the Sichuan provincial government had launched rescue operations in the Area.
“The provincial government has launched the highest level of disaster relief response and sent rescue teams to the site, where more than 300 workers with excavators and life-detection instruments are engaged in the search for survivors,” The spokesperson for the Sichuan provincial government Tang Lee told Xinhua news in a statement.
Landslides are common in the mountainous province of Sichuan.
In 2007 87,000 people were killed after landslides covered a different part of the province following an earthquake in the area.
