Landslide kills four in China's Xinjiang

A family of four were killed in a landslide in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Saturday, local authorities said.

The landslide happened in the morning in the countryside of Nilka County, in the Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Ili, according to a statement of the Xinjiang regional government.

The county government immediately dispatched rescuers to the site after receiving the disaster report at 10 a.m., and the four bodies were retrieved at 7 p.m., the statement said.

The dead were a couple and their son and daughter, it said.

Rising temperatures have led to avalanches and floods in parts of Ili since mid-February. An avalanche killed three people and trapped hundreds in an iron mining zone on Feb. 23.

Local authorities have strengthened monitoring of possible geological disasters.

Source:Xinhua