Death Toll from South China Landslide Rises to Six

The death toll from a landslide in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has risen to six, as the four missing were confirmed dead.

The emergency response office in Du’an Yao Autonomous County under Hechi city received information at 3:25 a.m. Monday that a two-story building in Fude village collapsed in a landslide.

There were 15 households at the site. Xinhua reporters saw a building and pigpen almost buried by rocks and soil. A witness told Xinhua that the building belonged to villager Lan Huajing.

Rescuers have recovered six bodies as of 12:25 p.m., including Lan Huajing.

Lan Min, another villager, was sleeping when the accident happened. He was woke up by a loud noise, which he mistook as fireworks at first.

“But then I felt the house was shaking,” he recalled. “I thought it was an earthquake and told my family to rush out.”

When they stopped, they looked back, seeing Lan Huajing’s house entirely destroyed, and a wall of their own house damaged by stones.

According to local sources, it didn’t rain when the accident happened. The cause is being investigated.

Officials of the Hechi city have ordered a thorough inspection for hidden safety hazard.

Feb. 9, 2016 on Shanghai Daily.

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