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Two dead, 18 injured in massive landslide

By Huang Zhiling and Wang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-08 09:04

CHENGDU: A massive landslide in Southwest China's Sichuan province, which killed at least two people and injured 18, has forced the evacuation of some 10,000 residents along the Dadu River, authorities said on Friday.

The landslide took place in Shunhe township in Hanyuan county around 11:30 Thursday night. The debris formed a 250-m-long blockage on the Dadu River, killing two people, injuring 18, inundating eight farmhouses and destroying 10 vehicles.

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"Five people were stranded by the rising water level upstream of the landslide soon after it happened. Rescuers are using motor boats to reach them," said Wang Yawen, chief of the Ya'an municipal emergency response office.

Ya'an city has Hanyuan under its administration.

Water had overrun the obstruction by 3:30 am on Friday, which was in danger of collapsing and causing flooding downstream, according to the emergency response office of the Sichuan provincial government.

To avoid further casualties, the provincial government ordered an evacuation of people living at the lower reaches of the river.

"Some 10,000 people in Ya'an and neighboring Leshan have been relocated," said Li Chongxi, a top provincial government official. Officials from the Sichuan provincial government are still investigating if anyone is missing, he said.

As of press time on Friday, the runoff at the Pubugou power station dam downstream of the landslide was 2,400 cubic m per second, down from 2,760 cubic m per second on Thursday before the landslide.

Minor landslides were still occurring at the site on Friday.

"As the runoff has approached the normal level and no secondary disasters have followed the landslide, major dangers are unlikely to appear," Li said.