Deadly landslide in south-western China

Fifteen bodies have been recovered from rubble after a landslide hit a village in south-western China's Sichuan Province.Rescue efforts continue to search for more than 100 people believed to be still buried under tonnes of debris.

Rescuers with sniffer dogs stand near earthmoving equipment digging at the site of a landslide in Xinmo village in Maoxian County in southwestern China's Sichua Source: AAP

Around 1000 rescue workers are on site in Maoxian county, using excavators, life detectors and sniffer dogs to search for signs of life beneath the crush of rocks. The remote village in Sichuan province once had more than 60 homes, but now it is a mess of mud and rubble The landslide struck early Saturday morning after the side of a mountain collapsed. Many residents were still asleep or woke up too late to escape the sliding hillside. An estimated three million cubic metres of earth and rock slid down the mountain. Police say there were more people than usual in the village because students were home for the summer holiday. Wang Minghui (MING-wee), the vice-governor of Sichuan Province, says the chance of finding survivors is slim. The cries of his one-month old son's saved their lives. Sichuan is prone to deadly earthquakes and landslides. This latest disaster is believed to have been caused by a buildup of rainfall under the surface of the steep hillside.Police have closed roads in the county to all traffic except emergency services and people in nearby areas have been evacuated. Rescue teams have been careful not to dig too deep into the earth for fear of triggering a second landslide.President Xi Jinping has urged rescuers to spare no effort and says their top priority is to save as many lives as they can.