Landslide kills dozens, Xi orders all-out rescue (3)

SAD NETIZENS

Despite the freezing weather, hundreds of thousands of warm-hearted citizens nationwide have been closely following the progress of the disaster relief and rescue.

In cyberspace, they have posted latest news every few seconds, expressing sadness about the growing list of casualties and praying for miracles regarding those who are still buried in the debris.

On popular microblogging site Sina Weibo, posts about the landslide have reached more than 400,000. Many netizens stayed up on Friday night to add their own contributions to the site.

"Tonight, let us show our condolences for the dead compatriots of Zhenxiong, pray for those who remain missing in the debris. Life is too fragile. We only wish miracles can happen!" read one particularly popular post on Sina Weibo.

"It is a tragedy, a real tragedy!" sighed a netizen with the user name Pofuchenzhou642748 on popular web portal Sohu. com.

"The landslide was a natural disaster. We can only show our love and kindness," added a Sohu.com netizen registered in neighboring Sichuan Province.

CAUSE OF DISASTER

Prolonged local rainy and snowy weather triggered the landslide, geological experts said after initial investigations.

Li Lianju, deputy director of the Yunnan Land and Resources Department, said the landslide happened on a high, steep slope, where the rocky body had been marinated fully by the rain and snow over the past 10 consecutive days.

The landslide, 120 meters long, 110 meters wide, and 16 meters high, resulted in about 210,000 cubic meters of mud and rock, Li said.

"The sliding mud-rock plunged down and suddenly rushed into the one-hectare residential area of the village after passing a flat area, immediately burying and completely destroying 14 houses, and damaging two other houses," said the official.

Li added no such landslide had ever happened in the area before.

"The landslide, which brought a massive amount of watery mud to the village, buried all of the houses there and created great difficulties for rescue efforts amid low temperatures," said Sun Anfa, the leader of a local rescue team.