This aerial photo taken on July 9, 2023 shows the landslide site in Yueshan Village under Tujia Autonomous County of Wufeng, central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun)
WUHAN, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Four people died, and five are missing after a landslide hit a highway construction site in central China's Hubei Province on Saturday, local authorities said on Tuesday.
The death toll rose by two on Tuesday, said the rescue headquarters. Two missing people were found on Tuesday, and one was retrieved but showed no vital signs. Rescuers were still trying to recover the other, who was initially believed dead.
The first two bodies of the missing people were recovered on Sunday and Monday.
The landslide struck a construction site in Yueshan Village in the Tujia Autonomous County of Wufeng in Yichang City at approximately 4 p.m. Saturday. Nine people -- all construction workers -- were initially reported missing, and five more were injured.
Rescue workers are using more than 500 rescue devices, heavy machinery, and nine sniffer dogs to continue search operations in three shifts.
As of Tuesday evening, rescue workers had transferred more than 20,000 cubic meters of rock and earth from the site. Officials earlier estimated the landslide caused more than 500,000 cubic meters of rock and earth to bury the site.
Rescue authorities have also beefed up debris monitoring and weather alerts to avoid potential secondary disasters and ensure the safety of rescue workers.
An investigation into the cause of the landslide is underway. ■
