12 confirmed dead in SW China landslide

CHENGDU - Twelve people have been confirmed dead in a landslide in Southwest China's Sichuan province, local authorities said on Thursday.

As of 11:30 am Thursday, rescuers had found 12 bodies of the victims from the landslide that occurred on Wednesday morning in the village of Sanxi in Dujiangyan city. The landslide was believed to be triggered by rainstorms since Monday evening.

A man weeps at a shelter after a rain-triggered landslide damaged 11 houses and left dozens missing, in Zhongxing town, Dujiangyan city, July 10, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

Local authorities are continuing to verify the exact number of those missing. Search and rescue work is under way.

According to local officials, at least 11 others remain missing after the landslide had buried 11 homes in the region that was struck by a devastating earthquake in 2008.

The affected area of the landslide is 2 kilometers long, with about 1.5 million cubic meters of mud, rock and debris, said Qiao Jianping, a researcher with the Institute of Mountain and Environment under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.