Landslides slammed into three mountain hamlets in western China early Tuesday, killing 17 people and leaving 44 missing, while crews drained a fast-rising reservoir in another part of the country following heavy rains. The landslides swept through three different areas before dawn, state media said. In the worst-hit town of Xiaohe in Yunnan province, four died and rescuers were searching for 42 others, the official provincial newspaper Yunnan Daily reported on its website. Another 38 were injured. In neighboring Sichuan province, seven died and one person was missing in Yandai village, while rescuers recovered six bodies and were searching for one person in Sima village, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
