Rescue workers have mounted massive operation to hunt for an estimated 2,000 people who are still missing after landslides that happened in flood-hit northwest China due to heavy rains, killing at least 127 people, reported state media. Nearly 3,000 soldiers and about 100 medical experts are involved in search and rescue effort in the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu province today, reported Xinhua news agency said.
"It's very hard to locate the people washed away by floods. It's hard to say what their chances of survival are," He Youxin, an officer organizing rescue efforts in Zhouqu, told Xinhua.
The blockage of the river upstream worsened the devastation as the blockage created a 3km-long lake, sending massive waves of mud, rocks and water crashing down into Zhouqu County. "A preliminary estimate is that 50,000 people have been affected by the disaster. About half of the county seat was covered," said state television.
Xinhua reported that one meter deep mud was dumped on the streets. "Now the sludge has become the biggest problem to rescue operations. It's too thick to walk or drive through" said Diemujiangteng, head of Zhouqu county
The landslides destroyed several houses, roads and bridges. The water and electricity supply to some parts of the region have been cut. "Someone said the fifth floor of my residential building has been submerged. People are busy looking for their family members and friends," Xinhua quoted Li Tiankui, a local resident, as saying. Gannan’s terrain is very rough and authorities are fearing that it may hamper rescue efforts.
