Dozens killed in landslides in China

At least 96 people have been killed in landslides triggered by heavy rain in north-west China and 2,000 are missing, say reports on state-run media. The landslides hit a mainly Tibetan area in Gansu province. Dozens killed in landslides in China The landslides buried a number of houses and blocked a river which has swollen to flood a wide area, said officials in Zhouqu county. Around 1,400 people have been killed this year in floods that have affected much of central and southern China. Soldiers have been despatched to the hilly area to look for survivors, as Prime Minister Wen Jiabao headed to the area to oversee rescue operations. About 19,000 people living downstream from the landslide blocking the river have been evacuated. The landslides struck late on Saturday after torrential rains, the official Xinhua news agency said, and a small hydro-electric power station was destroyed. "Many single storey homes have been wiped out and now we're waiting to see how many people got out," a resident of Zhouqu called Han Jianping told the Reuters news agency. "We've had landslides before but never anything this bad. People are trying to find their families and waiting for more rescuers." The mud is hampering the rescue operation, officials told reporters. "It's too thick to walk or drive through," a senior county official was quoted as saying. China has experienced terrible flooding in recent months, the BBC's Michael Bristow in Beijing says. The damage has cost billions of dollars so far, houses have been destroyed and farmland inundated, our correspondent says.

Dozens killed in landslides in China

The landslides buried a number of houses and blocked a river which has swollen to flood a wide area, said officials in Zhouqu county.

Around 1,400 people have been killed this year in floods that have affected much of central and southern China.

Soldiers have been despatched to the hilly area to look for survivors, as Prime Minister Wen Jiabao headed to the area to oversee rescue operations.

About 19,000 people living downstream from the landslide blocking the river have been evacuated.

The landslides struck late on Saturday after torrential rains, the official Xinhua news agency said, and a small hydro-electric power station was destroyed.

"Many single storey homes have been wiped out and now we're waiting to see how many people got out," a resident of Zhouqu called Han Jianping told the Reuters news agency.

"We've had landslides before but never anything this bad. People are trying to find their families and waiting for more rescuers."

The mud is hampering the rescue operation, officials told reporters.

"It's too thick to walk or drive through," a senior county official was quoted as saying.

China has experienced terrible flooding in recent months, the BBC's Michael Bristow in Beijing says.

The damage has cost billions of dollars so far, houses have been destroyed and farmland inundated, our correspondent says.