Thursday, August 19, 2010
The terrifying moment a television reporter is swept away by China landslide
Swept along by a ferocious mudslide, a television reporter struggles helplessly as rescue workers make desperate attempts to save her.
Flinging themselves into the swirling mass, two men eventually manage to stop the journalist from being carried away.
The astonishing rescue came after fresh landslides today rocked south-west China following days of heavy rains, leaving at least 67 people missing and cutting off access to the area.
Help at hand: A man dives to grab the journalist before she is lost for good
Caught: The man is joined by a rescue worker; both men cling on to the journalist
Roads, power and telecommunications were severed when the mud tore through Puladi township in Yunnan province.
Rescue workers have been sent to the township, which is in the mountains bordering Myanmar, but had to battle their way to the region.
Twenty-five people were hurt in this particular landslide, nine seriously, reported the Xinhua news agency.
'I suddenly heard rumbling late last night and then rushed to a safe place with fellow villagers,' local resident Yu Zhizhong said.
The mudslides, which are spread about 300 metres across, have buried at least 10 trucks and 21 houses.
Mudslides and floods have killed at least 1,500 people around the country in the last several months.
The provincial civil affairs office sent tents and clothing to the area, but it is not known when the aid and rescue workers will get there.
The mudslides tore away a bridge on the Nujiang river, which saw its water level surge by six metres.
China regularly suffers devastating summer floods, but this year has been the worst in a decade, with cities washed away in the north-east and north-west of the country. The storms have caused tens of billions of dollars in damage.
The worst recent landslides have been in Zhouqu in Gansu province, where at least 1,287 people were killed as a mudslide crashed through the city earlier this month. The government said a further 457 people are still missing from that disaster.
Vice Premier Hui Liangyu today urged authorities to focus on resettlement of survivors in Zhouqu. He said more shelter and medical services were needed, according to Xinhua.
Mr Hui said schools should resume classes when the new academic year starts in a few weeks.
Natural disaster: Rescuer workers and residents team up to search for possible survivors following today's landslide. At least 67 people are still missing
Mudslides and floods have killed at least 1,500 people around China in the last several months. The devastated remains after flooding in Huangzhu township in north-west China (above and below) last week
Swept away: A reporter struggles helplessly as she is carried along by a mudslide in south-west China today
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