17 confirmed dead in Tibet landslide
Baku, April 1 (AZERTAC). The number of people known to have died in a landslide that buried 83 people in a mining area near Lhasa rose to 17 on Sunday evening. The others remain trapped under the debris, and their chances of survival are "slim" according to the rescue headquarters. It deployed more workers and machines to help in the rescue operation. On Sunday, tents, clothes and kitchen knives were retrieved close to where the bodies were found. That has led rescuers to believe more miners might be buried nearby.
The landslide and ensuing mudslide blanketed a camp in the Jiama mining area in Zhaxigang village, Maizhokunggar County, at about 6 am on Friday, according to authorities. It measured more than 2 million cubic meters in volume and covered a belt of land 3 kilometers long between mountains. The average thickness of the debris is about 30meters, according to the rescue headquarters.
More than 3,500 rescuers — with numbers still growing -have been working day and night to search for the trapped workers since Friday. Temperatures dropped below zero with snow during the past nights. The rescuers have had to consolidate and expand mountain passes and work in thin air at an altitude of more than 4,600 meters. Many rescuers working overtime told China Daily they have difficulty breathing or have a faster-than-normal heartbeat. Some sniffer dogs were affected by the cold weather.
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