Landslide wipes out Chinese village

A landslide swept over a village in north-west China covering dozens of homes and leaving at least 17 dead and 11 missing, reports said today.

The official Xinhua News Agency said rescuers in Shaanxi province were scrambling to find survivors after a massive wall of earth peeled away from a mountainside on Wednesday, crushing at least 25 houses in Shuanghuyu.

Xinhua said local officials believe spring weather loosened up the frozen earth, a mix of fine-grained dirt and clay, and triggered the landslide.

Guo Peicai, a local county chief, was quoted as saying the chances of finding survivors was slim because of the scale of the devastation.

“Houses have been completely buried,” Mr Guo told Xinhua. “Rescuers had difficulty finding supporting structures in the debris where victims could have room for survival.”

Ten people were taken to hospital with injuries.