Chinese soldiers rescue nearly 1,300 people
Thousands of Chinese soldiers and workers raced against time to rescue nearly 1,300 people missing in a northwest town submerged by sludge and debris after massive landslides struck the region claiming at least 127 lives, in one of the worst natural disasters to hit China.
Rescuers blasted debris that blocked a west China river to safely release potential flood waters in Zhouqu County. At least 127 people were killed, 88 others injured and about 1,294 people were found missing when a massive mudslide battered Zhouqu County, in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, on Sunday.
Chinese authorities have sent more than 4,500 soldiers, police and rescue workers to help in search and rescue operations after the landslides in ethnically Tibetan region.
Personnel from the Lanzhou Military Area Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) used explosives to blast the blockage in the Bailong River, in Gansu Province on Monday morning to clear the blocked river water, which inundated the township, an official spokesman said.
He said the first operation was successful, adding that armed police officers and PLA soldiers also used excavators to demolish the blockage. The PLA soldiers conducted two more controlled explosions using more explosives than originally planned to accelerate the drainage of the lake, He Qingcheng, an Army commander of the PLA Lanzhou Military Area Command told Xinhua. As a result of the new openings the level of the barrier lake started decreasing.
The county is located in the Bailong River valley, flanked by mountains on both sides. The blockage of the river created a barrier lake that overfilled and sent massive waves crashing down on the county, ripping houses from their foundations and tearing six-story apartment buildings in half, Xinhua report said.
According to local meteorological authorities, Zhouqu is expected to see drizzle or moderate rain on Monday and Tuesday. About 45,000 people have been evacuated, according to a statement from the provincial civil affairs department.
The water level in the county seat of Chengguan Township had declined by 40 cm, after floodwaters carrying mud and rocks submerged half the town in early Sunday morning, Mao Shengwu, head of the prefecture, said.
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