Landslide in mountainous southwestern China buries dozens of people

In this image taken from video footage run by China's CCTV, rescue workers search through rubbles in the aftermath of a landslide in liangshui village in southwestern China's Yunnan Province on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024.

BEIJING — A landslide in southwestern China’s mountainous Yunnan province early on Monday buried 47 people, killing at least two, and forced the evacuation of 200 more amid freezing temperatures and falling snow.

The disaster struck just before 6 a.m. in the village of Liangshui in the northeastern part of Yunnan province. Rescue efforts were underway to find victims buried in 18 separate houses, the Zhenxiong county publicity department said.

Two bodies were pulled from the rubble, according to state broadcaster CCTV. The cause of the landslide wasn’t immediately known as survivors and rescuers struggled with snow and freezing temperatures that were forecast to persist for at least the next three days.