Thirty five people are missing after a landslide hit southeast China’s Fujian province early Sunday morning, sources with authorities in Sanming City said, Xinhua News Agency reported.
A construction site for a hydropower station was hit by a landslide at 4:46 am Sunday in Kaishan township, Taining county, Sanming city, East China’s Fujian province, cnr.cn reported. Preliminary data show that seven people were rescued while 35 remain missing, the report cited Taining Television as saying.
Most workers were sleeping when the raging earth and stones swept through their dormitories and the station’s office building, fjsen.com reported.
A rescue is underway but it is hampered by the heavy rain. More than 100 firefighters are searching for survivors as of 11 am Sunday, China News Agency reported.
Provincial leaders, including You Quan, Party chief of the province, and Yu Weiguo, the governor, rushed to the scene.
Rescuers attributed the landslide to continuous heavy rain in recent days.
The county was battered by heavy rain between Saturday and today, with rainfall hitting 191.6 mm in some areas in 24 hours.
