The feared death toll in the landslide southeast of Chongqing continues to mount. Officials say at least 74 people are still missing, including 47 workers at the iron ore mine where the landslide occurred on Friday afternoon, Xinhua reports. It seems increasingly unlikely that any will be found alive.
Seven survivors have been found so far. Recovery and rescue efforts continue, including for 27 miners trapped underground where they were working when the landslide happened. Their fate is unknown though officials are holding out more hope for them than those on the surface who were buried under thousands of cubic feet of mud and rock.
There is also concern that debris from the landslide that has fallen into the Wujiang River could form a barrier lake in the event of rain, which is in the forecast for Sunday and Monday.
Meanwhile Xinhua (via Relief Web) also reports that a freak wind and hail storm on Wednesday night killed at least 20 people and injured more than 100 others in central Henan and eastern Anhui provinces. Gales of more than 100 kph ripped through 62 rural townships around Shangqiu and Kaifeng, uprooting trees, bringing down nearly 10,000 homes and causing widespread damage to crops.
China Bystander 