19 dead after landslide tears through workers’ dormitory in southwest China

A landslide tore through the workers’ dormitory of a mining company Sunday in southwest China, killing 19 people, authorities said.

The early-morning disaster struck in a mountainous rural district of Sichuan province’s Leshan county, where rain has been falling constantly for weeks.

More than 180 people were mobilized to help find those buried under the debris in an operation that wrapped up Sunday afternoon.

Those killed were all apparently workers with the Jinkaiyuan mining company, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

With its humid, rainy climate, southwestern China is prone to landslides, especially in areas where there has been large-scale shifting of land from farming, deforestation, engineering projects and mining operations.