Nineteen people were tragically killed in the early hours of Sunday in a landslide that struck a workers’ dormitory of a mining company in Southwest China, as confirmed by Chinese authorities.
The incident occurred in a mountainous rural area of Leshan County in the Sichuan Province, which has been experiencing continuous rainfall for weeks.
Over 180 individuals have been mobilized to aid in the search for individuals trapped under the debris. All the victims were seemingly workers at the Jinkaiyuan mining company, as reported by the state-run CCTV station.
Southwest China, characterized by its humid, rainy climate, is susceptible to landslides, particularly in areas that have undergone extensive land transformation due to deforestation, engineering projects, and mining operations.
This tragic incident underlines the significant risks associated with such geological events and raises crucial questions regarding worker safety and environmental management in China’s mining sector.
