THE death toll from a landslide in a remote, mountainous part of south-western China rose to 34 today, while 10 people remain missing, Chinese media reported.

This followed the deaths of at least three people after a 7.1 earthquake struck western China on Tuesday.

The landslide struck early Monday in the village of Liangshui in the north-eastern part of Yunnan province.

Search and rescue operations continued amid freezing temperatures and falling snow.

More than 1,000 rescuers were working at the site with the help of excavators, drones and rescue dogs, the Ministry of Emergency Management said on Tuesday. 

The Xinhua news agency Xinhua said the landslide was triggered by the collapse of a steep cliff top area. 

It did not elaborate on what caused the initial collapse.

On Tuesday, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in a remote part of Xinjiang killed at least three people and caused extensive damage. 

Officials suggested the area’s sparse population contributed to the strong quake’s low death toll.

Jian Gewa, a student living in Uchturpan County in the Xinjiang region, the epicentre of the quake, said he was in the bathroom when the tremor began and the entire building shook violently.

“I just thought I had to get myself to safety as quickly as possible,” Jian said.

He was evacuated to a school where he was staying in a dorm room with his grandfather, joining about 200 others. 

The area is populated mostly by Kyrgyz and Uyghurs, ethnic Turkic minorities who are predominantly Muslim. 

In another disaster at least 25 people died after a fire broke out in China’s south-eastern Jiangxi province, the local government said on Wednesday.

Officials for the Yushui district of Jiangxi province said a fire broke out in the basement of a shopping area on Wednesday afternoon. 

The local government said search and rescue operations are underway, and that the cause of the fire is under investigation.