Race in China for survivors as death toll rises to 702

August 09, 2010 08:52 am | Updated November 28, 2021 09:29 pm IST - Beijing

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a woman mourns for her relative who died in devastating landslides in Zhouqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Gansu Province, Monday,  Aug. 9, 2010. Rescuers lifted muddy bodies into trucks, and aid convoys choked the road into the remote Chinese town where hundreds died and more than 1,100 were missing Monday from landslides caused by heavy rain that has flooded swaths of Asia and spread misery to millions. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Xing Guangli) ** NO SALES **

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a woman mourns for her relative who died in devastating landslides in Zhouqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Gansu Province, Monday, Aug. 9, 2010. Rescuers lifted muddy bodies into trucks, and aid convoys choked the road into the remote Chinese town where hundreds died and more than 1,100 were missing Monday from landslides caused by heavy rain that has flooded swaths of Asia and spread misery to millions. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Xing Guangli) ** NO SALES **

More than 4,500 soldiers and rescue-workers were on Monday battling against time to search for survivors a day after landslides and flooding left more than three hundred people dead in northwestern China’s Gansu province. (According to AP, the death toll from landslides more than doubled on Tuesday to 702, as crews in three countries across Asia struggled to reach survivors from flooding that has afflicted millions of people. Rescuers digging by hand through mud found a 52—year old man who had been trapped for more than 50 hours inside a leveled apartment building in the remote town of Zhouqu, where local officials said more than 1,000 other people were still missing. Rescuers with sniffer dogs discovered the man, Liu Ma Shindan, who was in weak condition but breathing normally.)

Late on Monday night, officials said the death toll, from what they described as one of China’s worst ever incidents of flooding this past decade, had risen to 337, with 1,148 others still missing. Around 1,242 people had been rescued as of Monday night.

Officials had said on Monday afternoon that 137 people had died as of 4 pm, with 1,348 others still missing. Another 117 people were injured, with 28 people “severely wounded” and four in a critical condition.

Local officials in the predominantly Tibetan county of Zhouqu said there were fears of further flooding with debris damming the Bailong river. Soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Lanzhou command had to use explosives to blast the debris and safely release the waters. He Qingcheng, a PLA commander, told Xinhua the army carried out three explosions on Monday morning, following which thelevel of the flood-lake had receded by a metre.

More than 45,000 residents in the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture have been evacuated, officials said, with 300 homes destroyed and another 3,000 flooded. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao toured the remote region on Sunday. “For those who were buried under the debris, now is the most crucial time to save their lives,” he told a meeting of local officials late on Sunday night.

Sunday’s landslides are the latest of a series of natural disasters that have struck China this year. Officials said this week that floods in 2010 have left 1,072 people dead and 619 missing.

More than 140 million people in China's 28 provinces and regions had been affected by this year’s flooding, which has caused direct economic losses estimated at 210 billion yuan ($ 31 billion). The floods have destroyed 1.1 million homes, damaged 9.72 million hectares of farmland and displaced 10.42 million people.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.