Rain-triggered mudslides cut off highway in Sichuan

Rain-triggered mudslides have cut off access to a pivotal highway in southwest China's Sichuan Province, although no casualties have been reported, police and witnesses said Sunday.

State Highway 213, which links Sichuan with northwest China's Gansu Province and southwest China's Yunnan Province, was referred to as a "lifeline" by rescue workers following the devastating 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, which occurred in Sichuan's Wenchuan County.

The highway was a crucial channel for rescuers who brought aid and supplies to the county's town of Yingxiu, where the quake's epicenter was located.

A local traffic officer said that heavy rains triggered at least five mudslides, which buried a section of the highway in Yingxiu.

Heavy downpours have wreaked havoc in southern and southwestern China since Saturday.

In Sichuan's Maoxian County, eight people went missing after a mudslide buried a chemical plant dormitory Sunday morning.

Rescue workers continued to search for survivors on Sunday after a pair of coal mine disasters, including a mine flood in southwest China's Guizhou Province and a mine collapse in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, left a total of 40 people missing.