The body of a female victim was retrieved by rescuers after a rain-triggered landslide hit a village in east China's Zhejiang Province, authorities said Thursday.
The body was found around 1 p.m., and rescuers are racing against time to dig out another buried victim. So far 13 people have been rescued and over 20 remain missing after a landslide caused by Typhoon Megi hit Sucun Village, Lishui City at 5:28 p.m. Wednesday, according to the local government.
"Roughly 400,000 cubic meters of debris slid down the mountains and buried 20 households. Seventeen homes were also flooded. A township cadre who rushed to help relocate villagers is among the missing," Zhou Ruichen, a county official said.
Villager Zheng Quanwei, 56, was having dinner 200 meters away from the scene. "I heard a loud noise and rushed outside. It was getting dark, but I could see some collapsed houses on the hillside," he said, "There were still some noises, and I couldn't help but burst into tears."
Video footage from the scene shows there were clouds of dust and debris billowing from the hill around 5:28 p.m. as a massive landslide engulfed the hillside and people screamed in terror.
"The rocks were flowing down like water. I was running in such a hurry that I even lost one of my shoes," said survivor 58-year-old Su Guohong.
"There were five or six villagers running with me," he said.
Seeing the rocks rolling down the mountain, Pan Zhaoxiang abandoned the housework she had been doing and ran up the mountain with a group of people. They did not dare to come down until 7:30 p.m.
"When I left my home, I saw two cars being washed into the river. Some people were shouting 'help' from the water. I am still so scared now," she said.
Su Yumin, 64, said he was cooking while taking care of two grandchildren when he saw leveled houses and a huge rock tumble down.
"I brought the two kids out of the house. Now the whole family is safe, but the 2,000 kg of rice we were drying outside has all been ruined," he said.
Ye Qinxiang said, "We have ten mu (0.6 hectares) of cropland, but all the eggplants, bitter gourds and pumpkins were damaged."
Many houses in the village were swept away and destroyed, and more than 1,460 residents were relocated to safer areas.
The local government has mobilized more than 1,200 people, 21 excavators, four pumps, and other emergency equipment for the rescue work.
At the site of the disaster, rocks have continued to tumble down the mountain, creating barrier lakes. Smaller landslides are likely to occur.
Rescuers had to walk to the site hand in hand, due to the turbulent water of the barrier lakes.
A temporary relocation site was set up in a nearby village, where 118 people were resettled. A total of 176 beds, 50 items of clothing and food were sent to the victims.
Many of the villagers in Sucun Village are elderly people whose children are away studying or working in cities.
"Many of them do not know how to use phones, and we helped them one by one to get in contact with their children," said Ying Shuping, a worker who has been helping to install telecom equipment in the temporary shelters.
Baofeng Village was also affected by the typhoon, with six people missing in Wencheng County Wednesday night after their homes had been destroyed by a landslide.
The six villagers remain missing and rescue work is under way.
