Landslide collapses, buries buildings in southern China
BEIJING (AP) — A landslide collapsed and buried buildings at and around an industrial park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen on Sunday, leaving 27 people missing, authorities said.
-
- Emergency services search for survivors at an industrial park after a landslide buried 22 buildings on December 20, 2015 in Shenzhen, China. Reports say at least 27 people are missing and 7 people have been rescued so far after a landslide hit China’s southern province on Sunday. (Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images)
-
- Emergency services search for survivors at an industrial park after a landslide buried 22 buildings on December 20, 2015 in Shenzhen, China. Reports say at least 27 people are missing and 7 people have been rescued so far after a landslide hit China’s southern province on Sunday. (Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images)
-
- Rescuers search for survivors amongst collapsed buildings in the aftermath of a landslide in Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong province Sunday Dec. 20, 2015. The landslide collapsed and buried buildings at and around an industrial park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen on Sunday, leaving many missing, authorities said. (Color China Photo via AP)
-
- Rescuers search for survivors amongst collapsed buildings in the aftermath of a landslide in Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong province Sunday Dec. 20, 2015. The landslide collapsed and buried buildings at and around an industrial park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen on Sunday, leaving many missing, authorities said. (Color China Photo via AP)
-
- Rescuers search for survivors amongst collapsed buildings in the aftermath of a landslide in Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong province Sunday Dec. 20, 2015. The landslide collapsed and buried buildings at and around an industrial park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen on Sunday, leaving many missing, authorities said. (Color China Photo via AP)
-
- Rescuers search for survivors on a collapsed building following a landslide in Shenzhen, in south China’s Guangdong province, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015. (Chinatopix via AP)
-
- Rescuers search for survivors on a damaged building following a landslide in Shenzhen, in south China’s Guangdong province, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015. (Chinatopix via AP)
-
- People look as rescuers searching for survivors on a collapsed buildings following a landslide in Shenzhen, in south China’s Guangdong province, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015. (Chinatopix via AP)
-
- Emergency services search the area after a landslide buried 22 buildings on December 20, 2015 in Shenzhen, China. Reports say at least 27 people are missing and 7 people have been rescued so far after a landslide hit China’s southern province on Sunday. (Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images)
-
- Emergency services search a collapsed building after a landslide buried 22 buildings on December 20, 2015 in Shenzhen, China. Reports say at least 27 people are missing and 7 people have been rescued so far after a landslide hit China’s southern province on Sunday. (Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images)
-
- Emergency services search a collapsed building after a landslide buried 22 buildings on December 20, 2015 in Shenzhen, China. Reports say at least 27 people are missing and 7 people have been rescued so far after a landslide hit China’s southern province on Sunday. (Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images)
-
- Emergency services search a collapsed building after a landslide buried 22 buildings on December 20, 2015 in Shenzhen, China. Reports say at least 27 people are missing and 7 people have been rescued so far after a landslide hit China’s southern province on Sunday. (Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images)
At least seven people were rescued after 18 buildings were buried and an area of 20,000 square meters (24,000 square yards) was covered with soil, the Ministry of Public Security’s firefighting bureau said in an online statement.
Shenzhen’s public security bureau posted a notice online saying that eight hours after the landslide, 21 men and six women were unaccounted for.
Shenzhen’s fire brigade said that one building had collapsed, but that the landslide had affected a large area in the northwestern outskirts of the city.
Li Yikang, the deputy secretary general of the Shenzhen city government, said at a televised news conference that more than 900 people had been evacuated.
Giving different figures than the fire authorities, Li said that four people had been rescued and 22 factory buildings buried, involving 15 companies. The reason for the discrepancies wasn’t immediately clear.
Li said that nearly 1,500 people were involved in rescue efforts.
State broadcaster China Central Television, or CCTV, said that there was a residential area next to the industrial zone, and that the buildings buried included two workers’ dormitories.
Ren Jiguang, the deputy chief of Shenzhen’s public security bureau, told CCTV that most people had been moved to safety before the landslide hit.
The Beijing Youth Daily, citing a local resident, reported that the soil that slid down onto the area had been piled up against a 100-meter (110-yard) -high hill after being dug up in the past two years in construction work.
State media carried photos of what looked like at least one five-story building leaning over and partly crumpled in the industrial park, and a sea of brown soil covering a vast area around it. –Associated Press
Baltimore neighborhoods
Baltimore street photographers
Year in review
Freddie Gray: protests, aftermath
24 hours with...
A. Aubrey Bodine
Viewing Baltimore from above