Mudslide in northwest China batters town, 65 dead

BEIJING (Reuters) - Mudslides battered a town in northwest China and killed at least 65 people on Sunday and rescue teams searched for hundreds of missing and readied a blast to dislodge a blockage of mud, debris and water in a valley.

The mudslides hit Zhouqu County in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu province, an area dominated by steep and barren hills, after torrential rains on Saturday, the Xinhua news agency said, citing local officials.

Runoff from the downpour banked up behind a landslide in a narrow valley in Zhouqu. The accumulated water on the Bailong River then triggered flooding and mudslides hit the county's main town, smashed a small hydro station, and left 65 dead and hundreds missing, according to Xinhua and Chinese television.

"A preliminary estimate is that 50,000 people have been affected by the disaster," the Chinese television news said. "About half of the county seat was covered."

The death count was certain to rise, with officials reporting hundreds of residents missing. About 2,800 troops and a hundred medical workers were sent to help rescue efforts, Xinhua said.

"Now the sludge has become the biggest problem to rescue operations. It's too thick to walk or drive through," said the head of the county, Diemujiangteng, according to Xinhua.

The disaster will add to the heavy toll from floods in China, Pakistan and other parts of Asia this summer.

In China, more than 1,000 people have been killed this year in floods that have devastated some areas of central and southern China. Storms in northeast Jilin province killed or left missing more than 100 people in recent days.

Pictures from Zhouqu showed mud and water in the town streets, and troops frantically digging through debris to hunt for victims, including a boy pulled from a shattered house. Xinhua said the mud dumped on the streets was up to a metre deep.

Many residents of Gannan are ethnic Tibetan herders and farmers, and the rough terrain may hamper rescue efforts. Zhouqu County has about 135,000 residents, about a third of the ethnic Tibetans, according to the county government.

The government has sent experts on two helicopters to survey the devastation and to prepare to blast open the remaining blockage in the valley, the television said.

About 19,000 people living in two town below the blockage have been moved away, the reports said.

(Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Ron Popeski)