China's Worst Landslide

Chinese engineers feared an unstable lake created by the country's deadliest landslide in decades could burst and swamp devastated areas where people are still searching for survivors.At least 702 people have died in northwestern Gansu province after a wave of mud and rocks engulfed swathes of the town Zhouqu at the weekend. Grief stricken people have remained beside buried and destroyed homes where relatives and friends were entombed during the landslide.Rescue workers and residents search for bodies after a powerful landslide gauged a trail through Zhouqu on Sunday.

Rescue workers and residents search for bodies after a powerful landslide gauged a trail through Zhouqu on Sunday

Workers use a boat to rescue people trapped inside buildings in the northwestern province of Gansu

At least 702 people have died in northwestern Gansu province after a wave of mud and rocks engulfed swathes of the town Zhouqu at the weekend.

Engineers detonate explosives to free flood waters from a lake created by the landslide

Rescuers conduct the ninth explosion to blast debris damming a river in order to safely release potential flood waters in the mudslides hit Zhouqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province, Aug.10.

The drainage of the barrier lake was accelerated due to the explosion.

There are fears of more landslides after the emergence of tropical storm 'Dianmu', which is expected to bring strong rain to northern China. Officials are attempting to prevent a catastrophic overflow of a new lake which has formed in the centre of Zhouqu. Controlled explosions have been carried out to create a channel to funnel some of the water away from the area. A report by the local government said 'This massive landslide disaster left a 10 metre high blockage in the Bailong river, creating a barrier lake, and flooding north and south Binhe road.' Thousands of people have already been evacuated from villages downstream as a precaution for if the lake bursts.People cling on as a bulldozer drives across a flooded street after the worst landslide in 60 years.