China landslide death toll jumps to 42, nine missing

BEIJING: The death toll in a landslide which buried a village in southwest China rose to 42, state broadcaster CCTV said on Monday, with nine still missing days after the disaster struck.

Search and rescue operations at the site in Shuicheng county, Guizhou province -- where a thick torrent of mud buried 22 houses in the landslide on Tuesday -- were stopped on Sunday night, the provincial government said.

The government has earmarked 30 million yuan for search and rescue efforts in the province, Xinhua reported, as well as the relocation of victims.

Landslides are a frequent danger in rural and mountainous parts of China, particularly after heavy rain, and the country has suffered severe flooding this year.

In August 2017 at least 30 people were killed in two separate landslides in the same rural province of Guizhou.