Seventeen people die in China landslides

Seventeen people were confirmed dead and 44 others missing after torrential rains triggered landslides in southwest China on Tuesday, state media said.

Reuters

The landslides struck the provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan. They are the latest disasters in a recent spate of rain-related deaths in China.

In Yunnan province, a mountainside collapsed on a local township in the city of Zhaotong killing four people, a local official told the AFP news agency. Forty-two others are reported missing and official Xinhua news agency reported another 53 people injured.

“The township is located in a river valley surrounded by mountains, people were buried in their homes,” said the official from Qiaojia county.

In Sichuan province, two separate landslides left 13 people dead and two missing, Xinhua’s report said.

In Qinghai province, 10,000 people were evacuated because of a reservoir that overflowed as a consequence of days of heavy rain.

At least 567 people died in flood-related accidents in China so far this year, and 251 people are listed as missing according to government information.