A landslide caused by heavy rains trapped at least 107 people Monday in southwestern China and there was little hope for their survival, a local official said. Rescue efforts were hindered by rain that threatened to wash more mud down hill slopes. Many homes were buried when the landslide struck the village of Dazhai in Guizhou province on Monday afternoon after days of rain, a resident helping in the rescue effort, Huang Pangzun, told The Associated Press by phone. The number of casualties was not immediately known, said an official in Guizhou province who would give only his surname, Xue. Another official, interviewed by state broadcaster CCTV, said nearly half a hill had collapsed, engulfing a wide area in soil. CCTV showed still images of rescuers in orange overalls heading to the site on foot along a winding mountain road and later bent over a large mound of earth, tugging at large concrete slabs buried in it. Large areas of southern China have been hit by flooding in the last week, with at least 239 people killed and another 109 missing _ not including those from Monday's landslide. More than 3 million people have fled their homes over the past two weeks, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. On Sunday, floodwaters began receding in the hard-hit south and workers finished repairing a dike breach that forced the evacuation of 100,000 people.
