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Two dead, 12 missing in SW China landslide

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-21 15:52

KUNMING: Two people are dead and another 12 are missing after a landslide triggered high waves on a river in southwest China's Yunnan Province, local authorities said Tuesday.

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About 13 hectares of land slid into the Lancang River, the upper reaches of the Mekong, at about 3 a.m. Monday in the Xiaowan Hydropower Station reservoir area in Fengqing County, Lincang City, said Li Huasong, chief of the Communist Party of China Fengqing County Committee.

The rocks and mud produced waves up to 30 meters high, engulfing 14 farmers working in a temporary camp along the river, he said.

Two bodies had been recovered as of Tuesday morning. Rescuers are searching the 12 missing, but the size of the river made the rescue difficult, he said.