Landslide kills 18 primary school students

Chinese authorities Friday confirmed 18 primary school students died in a landslide on a village in an earthquake-devastated county the previous day. A spokesman for Yiliang County in southwest Yunnan province, where the disaster struck Thursday morning in the village of Zhenhe, said Friday rescue teams were still looking for a missing villager, Xinhua news agency reported. At least one more person was seriously injured, but that person's condition was not immediately available. Xinhua carried pictures of the disaster site, showing a steep hill from where the landslide apparently bore down on the village. Yiliang County was ravaged by a series of earthquakes Sept. 7, which left at least 81 people dead and another 800 injured. Earlier reports said 19 people, including 18 students, were buried in the landslide. The latest report said the rubble also had blocked a nearby river, creating a barrier lake about 49 feet wide and 24 feet deep, Xinhua said. All the dead victims were originally from the Shangba primary school, which was damaged by the quakes and later demolished, and were attending nearby Tiantou primary school. The landslide rolled down as the students were preparing for classes.