4 killed, 53 missing in landslide in China

Four people were killed and 53 reported missing, mostly Tibetans as a landslide triggered by heavy rains hit a remote province in China's southwest, officials said.

Four people were killed and 53 reported missing, mostly Tibetans as a landslide triggered by heavy rains hit a remote province in China's southwest, officials said.

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Most of the victims were reported to be labourers building a dam in Kangding Country, southwest China's Sichuan Province populated by ethnic Tibetans, Xinhua reported.

The landslide blocked a local mountain stream and caused a lake to be built in the rubble. Other reports said three people were injured and put the figure of missing at 97.

Xinhua said the scale of the landslide was so massive that it blocked three kilometres of the local highway, snapping electricity and communication systems.

Sichuan province was hit by a massive earthquake in 2008 which left 87,000 people dead or missing.