Toll in China landslide rises to 254

Beijing, Sept. 14: The death toll has risen to 254 in a landslide triggered by the collapse of an illegal mining dump, which engulfed a village in northern China, a government official said on Sunday.

By late Saturday, rescuers had identified 128 of the dead bodies recovered after Monday’s accident in Shanxi province’s Xiangfen county, a duty officer surnamed Zhang at the Shanxi provincial government said.

The tally could rise as more than 1,000 rescue workers comb through 74 acres (30 hectares) of sludge and mining waste covering the area, where hundreds more people could be buried.

The landslide on Monday in Shanxi province’s Xiangfen county was triggered when the retaining wall of a mining dump containing tonnes of liquid iron-ore waste collapsed, inundating the village of 1,300 residents.

—AP

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7 kids, 3 UN officials die in violence

Spin Boldak (Afghanistan), Sept. 14: A suicide bomber in a vehicle attacked a convoy carrying Afghan doctors working for the United Nations in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing two doctors and their driver and wounding 15 others, officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

In other violence, seven children died after ordnance they were playing with exploded, and militants ambushed and killed seven police, officials said.

The two doctors were under contract with the UN World Health Organisation in combating polio in Afghanistan, said Adrian Edwards, the chief UN spokesperson in the country. The driver also worked for the UN mission. All three were Afghan nationals, Mr Edwards said. The attack happened in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar. —AP