Landslide in Hilly Southern China Kills 46 People

Disaster teams have pulled out the bodies of 46 people, including 19 children, who were buried by a landslide that swept through a village in the steep, snow-dusted mountains of southern China.
    
The state-run China Central Television says that all the bodies have been recovered.
    
The landslide smothered 14 homes yesterday in a village in Yunnan province, burying 46 people.
    
The local government blames the mudslide on soil that had become heavily saturated from a month of rain and snow. It says the slope's steepness, its poor soil composition and the impact from an earthquake also contributed.
    
The government statement denies any direct relation between the disaster and mining activities in the area, characterizing the mudslide as a natural disaster.
    
The region is prone to earthquakes and heavy rains, making mudslides a recurring problem. More than 80 people died in a September earthquake, while a landslide buried a primary school the following month, killing 18 students and one other person.

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