3 confirmed dead, 38 remain missing in Sichuan mudslide

At least three people had been confirmed dead and there were still 38 people missing after a rain-triggered mudslide hit a a construction zone Thursday morning in southwest China's Sichuan province, said an official with local authorities Friday.

The disaster occurred at 6:14 a.m. at the construction zone of Baihetan Hydropower Station in Ningnan county, Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, said Cai Dingyuan, an official with the county government.

Preliminary investigation showed that the dead and missing are the hydropower station workers and their family members.

Rescuers and work teams sent by local governments have rushed to and started to work at the mudslide-hit region.

All the other 557 people from 117 households near the mudslide site were already evacuated on Thursday morning.

The Baihetan Hydropower Station, currently under construction by the China Three Gorges Corporation, is located on the lower reaches of the Jinsha River, a major headwater stream of the Yangtze River, the country's longest waterway.

China's National Committee for Disaster Reduction and Ministry of Civil Affairs on Thursday jointly released a national-level emergency response to the Sichuan mudslide and sent work teams to the region.