China: At least 16 students killed in a landslide

At least 16 students of a primary school were killed Thursday in a landslide in China, a mountainous region southwest of the country, recently hit by an earthquake, said the news agency official New China. Three others are missing. In total, 19 people, including 18 children, were buried by the landslide, which covered Tiantou primary school and two farms in the village of Zhenhe, about 8am, said the county government Yiliang on its website. At least 800 people were evacuated. About 2,000 police officers, soldiers and rescuers were trying to find the victims, said the government Yiliang. Rescuers based in Yiliang went to Zhenhe, three hours away, to try to extract students, said Peng Hong, a senior Foreign Office in the county. The rain swept mountainous area and is discharged into the valleys, although Peng has said that the reason of the landslide was not yet known. Yiliang was struck by an earthquake last month, which had 81 people and destroyed several villages.