China: 35 construction workers buried in landslide

BEIJING: Rescuers are trying to save about 35 workers who have been buried under massive rocks and debris at the site of a hydroelectricity project in Fujian province. The accident happened Sunday morning, and is believed to be the result of a landslide.

Reports reaching here suggest that chances of rescuing most of the workers, trapped at the site in a mountainous area of Taining county are slim. An estimated 100,000 cubic meters of mud and rock came tumbling down from a nearby hillock, burying the construction site.

Trapped workers were apparently asleep at 4.46 am when the landslide buried their dormitory and an office building, reports said. So far, rescuers have been able to save seven workers.

The local tourism administration in Taining county ordered all scenic spots to suspend business starting at 8 am on Sunday.

Chinese president Xi Jinping has demanded all-out efforts to search for buried and missing people. He also called for strengthening the system of monitoring and safety checks to identify hidden dangers to prevent secondary disasters. Rescue equipment including life detectors are being flown in from different parts of the country.

Chinese leadership is worried because repeated accidents can hamper the growth of construction industry, which is key to their plans for economic revival and the success of the Silk Road plan covering over 30 countries including India. The One Belt, One Road program, as it is called, is largely driven by China's construction and banking companies.

Last month, a crane accident at a construction site in eastern China's Guangdong province resulted in the death of 18 people and injuries to as many.

Another major accident killed 69 people when a hillock created by construction waste crumbled due to a landslide, and buried a large number of workers in Shenzhen city near Hong Kong. The incident was the result of work safety mismanagement rather than geological causes, according to investigations by the State Council, the country's cabinet secretariat. 20 people were detained and held responsible for the accident.