Landslide toll: 702, rising

• Source: Global Times
• [02:25 August 11 2010]
• Comments

Rescue workers attempt Tuesday to pull a body out of the mud from the devastating landslides and floods in Zhouqu, Gansu Province, as a crowd gathers to watch. At least three villages were leveled by an avalanche of mud and rocks triggered by heavy rains Saturday in a remote area of Gansu, the latest deadly disaster as China battles its worst flooding in a decade. Photo: AFP

By Ren Yingying in Zhouqu and Song Shengxia in Beijing

The death toll from a massive mudslide that leveled Zhouqu County, in Northwest Gansu Province, rose to 702 Tuesday, with 1,042 others still missing, officials said.

Some 1,243 people have been rescued, and 58 are seriously injured, according to Tian Baozhong, head of the provincial civil affairs department.

Rescuers pulled a man alive from the wreckage of his home Tuesday, three days after he was buried in the rain-triggered mudslides that had engulfed swathes of the mountainside community in the province early Sunday.

Liu Ma Shindan, 52, of Tibetan ethnicity, was rescued inside the leveled residential building for telecommunication workers in the county seat, an officer with the Lanzhou Military Area Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was quoted by the Xinhua News Agency as saying.

The man was in a weakened condition, but his heart rate and breathing were normal, doctors said.

As he was rushed to a makeshift clinic for treatment, rescuers extended their search to the upper reaches of the mudslides as the new development gave them fresh hope for rescuing anyone still alive under the debris.

The PLA has dispatched 5,300 soldiers, 150 vehicles, four helicopters and 20 speedboats to Zhouqu, Du Kangzhan, a publicity official at the PLA's Lanzhou Area Command, said.

China's Ministry of Finance has allocated 500 million yuan ($73 million) for emergency aid to fund the relief efforts.

The provincial government promised to allocate affected residents 150 yuan ($22) per head for 15 days starting from Monday. Families of those who died in the mudslides will be compensated 8,000 yuan.

The Red Cross Society of China has offered relief funds and materials worth more than 6 million yuan as it called for more donations.

The international community is voicing support for relief efforts.

France and Japan extended condolences to China after the landslides, saying they were ready to respond to any request for assistance.

Meanwhile, volunteers and other people not directly involved in the emergency rescue operation were advised not to enter the mudslide ravaged area, so as to allow trained rescuers to do their job effectively, the General Office of the State Council said in a statement Tuesday.

Zhou Hongping, a spokesman for the Firefighting Corps of the Gansu Public Security Bureau, which sent their rescue team to the site, told the Global Times that rescue operations are proceeding smoothly, and there was no need for more rescue teams to come, which may otherwise hinder the rescue operation.

"Rescuers mostly dug through the debris manually to search for survivors in the past two days. The large-scale digging devices, which entered the site today, make the rescue operation more efficient. But, with devices operating on site, more people will be a burden to the rescue effort," he said.

Tents, blankets, food and water were being rushed to the county, creating traffic jams on some roads.

Zhao Hongwei, Party secretary of Luoda village, 60 kilometers away from Zhouqu County, told the Global Times that his village was converted into a transit station, where most of the relief supplies will be temporarily stored in order to avoid traffic congestion.

"The tough mountain terrain and weather pose great challenges to rescue work. Local people are in bad need of water because of the hot weather," says Zhao, who returned from Zhouqu on Monday evening after leading a 20-member rescue team.

Jin Changshu, an official with the Gansu Civil Affairs Bureau, called for more material donations.

"We have enough clothing and tents for the residents. What we need most now are food items such as instant noodles and drinking water," he said.