China landslide toll at 128

RESCUERS shovelled and hammered at debris yesterday searching for survivors buried under sludge, mud and mining waste in northern China after a landslide that killed at least 128 people, but hopes of finding anybody alive were fading.

The surge of mud and mining waste formed a wall measuring three stories high and 600 metres wide when it ploughed into buildings on Monday in a valley in Shanxi province’s Xiangfen county. Local officials say they do not know how many people remain trapped in the rubble.

State-run media had reported there were hundreds missing, but later cited authorities as saying the figure could not yet be determined. It reported 128 as dead. The accident underscores two huge public safety concerns in China: the failure to enforce protective measures in the country’s notoriously deadly mines and the unsound state of many of its bridges, dams and other aging infrastructure.