Death toll in southwestern China landslide rises to 39, with 5 people still missing

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state media say the death toll from a landslide in a remote, mountainous part of southwestern China has risen to 39, while five people remain missing. The disaster struck early Monday in the village of Liangshui in the northeastern part of Yunnan province. Search and rescue operations continued Wednesday amid freezing temperatures and falling snow. State news agency Xinhua, citing a preliminary investigation by local experts, said the landslide was triggered by the collapse of a steep clifftop area, with the collapsed mass measuring around 330 feet wide, 200 feet in height and an average of 20 feet in thickness. It did not elaborate on what caused the initial collapse.