Rain-triggered landslides in China leave 13 dead, hundreds trapped

Jul 16, 2011, 12:00 GMT

Beijing - Rain-triggered landslides across China have left 13 dead and hundreds trapped in their vehicles, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday.

In northwestern Gansu province on Friday night, a landslide enveloped a section of highway, leaving 13 dead and six injured. The victims had been travelling in two vehicles, a bus and a truck.

In southwestern Yunnan province early Saturday, more than 800 people in around 300 vehicles became stranded on a highway after mud and rock swept down a mountainside and engulfed a 100-metre-long stretch of the road. Rescue work was under way.

Rainstorms and floods in China have caused the deaths of 355 people and left 112 missing since June 1, Xinhua reported, citing the National Disaster Reduction Committee.

The inclement weather has affected some 68 million people, forcing the relocation of more than 2.38 million people and causing 63.26 billion yuan (9.78 billion dollars) in direct economic losses.

Heavy rain has particularly battered the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and southwestern China in recent months.