BEIJING, Jan 23, (AP): Thirty-one people were confirmed dead while several remained missing Tuesday after a landslide in a remote, mountainous part of China's southwestern province of Yunnan, Chinese state media reported.
The disaster struck just before 6 am on Monday in the village of Liangshui in the northeastern part of Yunnan.
Authorities said earlier Tuesday that a total of 44 people were either missing or had been found dead.
Search and rescue operations resumed after being suspended earlier in the day due to another landslide alert.
More than 1,000 rescuers were working amid freezing temperatures, with the help of excavators, drones and rescue dogs, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management. Two survivors were found Monday and were recovering at a local hospital.
State news agency Xinhua, citing a preliminary investigation by local experts, said the landslide was triggered by the collapse of a steep clifftop area, with the collapsed mass measuring around 100 meters (330 feet) wide, 60 meters (200 feet) in height, and an average of 6 meters (20 feet) in thickness. It did not elaborate on what caused the initial collapse.
Aerial photos posted by Xinhua showed the side of a heavily terraced mountain had spilled over several village homes. More than 900 villagers were relocated.
Zhenxiong county lies about 2,250 kilometers (1,400 miles) southwest of Beijing, with altitudes ranging as high as 2,400 meters (7,900 feet).
Rescuers struggled with snow, icy roads and freezing temperatures that were forecast to persist for at least the next three days.
Heavy snow has been falling in many parts of China, causing transportation chaos and endangering lives.