Death toll mounts in China after deadly landslide

STORY: Rescuers worked through the night sifting deep mounds of earth at the site of the landslide, state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Tuesday.

After the landslide hit on Monday, at least 47 people from 18 households were reported missing, CCTV said, adding that 20 of those people were now confirmed dead. Another 24 were still missing and three other people had been accounted for by the rescue team.

The landslide hit two villages in the southwestern city of Zhaotong at about 5:51 a.m. (2151 GMT January 21), covering houses in brown mountain soil at the foot of a hill, state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) reported. It remains unclear what triggered the landslide.