China landslide death toll rises to 26

Beijing, Jul 26 (AFP) The death toll in a landslide that buried a village in southwest China rose to 26 on Friday following the discovery of two more bodies, state media said. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said 25 people were still missing three days after the disaster which struck in Shuicheng county, Guizhou province.

Two children and a mother with a baby - who were unearthed on Thursday - were among the dead, according to official news outlets. Eleven people have been found alive since the side of a hill collapsed on 22 homes late Tuesday, covering them in thick mud.

CCTV broadcast footage of rescue workers trying to reach survivors on a huge mound of earth, with workers in orange overalls carrying a victim on a stretcher. Landslides are a frequent danger in rural and mountainous parts of China, particularly after heavy rain, and the country has suffered severe flooding this year.

In August 2017 at least 30 people were killed in two separate landslides in the same rural province of Guizhou. (AFP) MRJ MRJ