Villagers evacuated after landslide kills 35 in China's Xinjiang

Villagers of Kokyar township head to a relocation place in Yecheng county of Kashgar prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, July 9, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

YECHENG -- A group of 198 villagers have been relocated after a massive landslide on Wednesday killed 35 at a village in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The people from 60 households in Yecheng county spent seven hours walking or riding on donkeys along a narrow herding pass to arrive at a neighboring village.

Rescuers and machines are still heading to the village after the only major road to the village was finally restored by 4 pm Saturday. Helicopters were mobilized to airdrop clothes, blankets, water and food to the village.

Hudbardi Halmuz, 75, was among the villagers evacuated. "I have been taken good care of on the way," he told Xinhua after arriving at the relocation site.

He and his family narrowly escaped their tragedy by running onto a hillside when the landslide occurred. "Our beautiful village was ruined," he said, tears in eyes.

Uxurhan Barat, 30, was receiving treatment at the Yecheng County Hospital. He was rescued by nearby villagers and had his right limb amputated.

"Hearing a boom and people crying and shouting 'run, run', I was hit by a falling roof before realizing what had happened," he recalled. His three children were all swept away by the mudflow.

The landslide, brought on by unusually heavy rain, struck the village in Kokyar township in Yecheng county early on Wednesday morning.

The landslide buried or damaged dozens of houses and cut off roads, electricity and telecommunications, complicating rescue efforts and making it hard to follow the progress of the disaster and rescue work.

The village, which sits in a valley deep in the Kunlun Mountains, has more than 110 households and is about 170 km from the county seat.