18 children among 19 killed in landslide

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BEIJING, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Chinese authorities Friday confirmed 19 people, including 18 primary school pupils, died in a landslide at a village in an earthquake-devastated county.

A spokesman for Yiliang County in southwest Yunnan province, where the disaster struck Thursday morning in the village of Zhenhe, said rescue teams were still looking for a missing villager, the Xinhua news agency reported.

At least one more person was seriously injured.

Xinhua carried pictures of the disaster site, showing a steep hill from where the landslide apparently bore down on the village.

Yiliang County was ravaged by a series of earthquakes Sept. 7 that left at least 81 people dead and another 800 injured.

The latest report said landslide rubble had blocked a nearby river, creating a barrier pond about 49 feet wide and 24 feet deep, Xinhua said.

The schoolchildren were originally from the Shangba primary school, which was damaged by the quakes and later demolished, and were attending nearby Tiantou primary school. The landslide rolled down as the pupils were preparing for classes.