Accident site: The site of the mountain collapse in Leshan in southwestern China’s Sichuan province. — AP
Beijing: All 19 people caught in a landslide in southwestern China’s Sichuan province have been confirmed dead, state media reported, announcing the end of rescue efforts.
Part of a mountain collapsed at around 6am (2200 GMT Saturday) near a state-owned forestry station in Jinkouhe, near the city of Leshan, state broadcaster CCTV said.
The disaster sent mud and debris hurtling towards a construction site operated by a local mining company, where it “struck and buried parts of the production and living facilities at the mineshaft platform”.
Nineteen people were confirmed dead as of 8pm, the broadcaster said, adding that “search and rescue work has currently ended, and the cause of the... collapse is under investigation”.
Footage broadcast by CCTV showed rescuers and excavators picking through a tract of mud that had flattened a wooded hillside and strewn it with twisted metal and smashed masonry.
The Jinkouhe government earlier said the landslide had killed 14 people and left five missing.
An unspecified number of other mine workers “have been evacuated to a safe location”, according to CCTV. — AFP
