Landslides kill at least 21 in south-west China

Beijing_(dpa) _ At least 21 people died and 32 were injured in landslides that hit two areas of south-western China's Sichuan province on Friday, state media said on Saturday.

Two days of torrential rain caused a huge flow of rock and mud to destroy more than 3,000 homes in Sichuan's Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, killing 12 and injuring 18 in Heba village, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The mud and landslides affected about 16,200 people, destroyed 1,300 hectares of farmland and washed away 2,175 head of cattle, the agency quoted local officials as saying.

Another nine people died and 14 were injured when a falling rock from a landslide forced a passenger bus off the road in Sichuan's Shimian county on Friday night, the agency said.

At least 21 others died in floods and landslides caused by heavy rainstorms in south-western China last week, according to state media reports. dpa bs wjh