Authorities were racing against time to save the 76 missing people after a massive landslide hit China’s manufacturing hub of Shenzen, even as the first body was pulled out of tonnes of mud on Tuesday amid mounting anger among relatives over the slow pace of rescue efforts.
The body recovered this morning was the first confirmed death, with the chance of finding survivors decreasing by the hour. The number of mis-sing people has dropped to 76 from 91, as some who were previously reported missing have been contacted, vice mayor Liu Qingsheng said.
Those who remain missing include 51 males and 25 females, said Mr Liu at a press conference. More than 4,000 rescuers have joined the rescue efforts as of Tuesday morning, he said.
Sixteen locations where buildings were buried have been listed as key excavation areas, Mr Liu said. The name list of the missing was made public on Tuesday.
Yao Yingzheng, a firefighter who participated in pulling out the first victim, said, “We detected vital signs several times, but our utmost efforts were in vain. We felt disheartened when doctors claimed him dead.”
The landslide hit an industrial park on Sunday after the collapse of a huge pile of construction waste from a hill in Shenzhen, burying or damaging 33 buildings.
Some 900 people were evacuated. Sixteen people were hospitalised, all with minor injuries, said the Guangdong provincial health authority.
Using life detectors, excavators and drones about 3,000 rescue workers are carefully digging through the nearly five story mud pile stretching up to 10 football fields for survivors.
