Rescuers work at the site of a landslide in Liangshui village, Tangfang town in the city of Zhaotong, Southwest China's Yunnan province, Jan 22, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

KUNMING/BEIJING – Weak rock structure was the primary cause of Monday’s landslide in Zhenxiong county of China’s Yunnan province, officials said as the death toll from the landslide rose to 34 on Wednesday.

Another 10 people are still missing, according to the local disaster relief headquarters.

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According to the disaster-responding task force, following on-site investigations and preliminary analyses, a team of experts discovered that the steep terrain and topography provided the conditions necessary for the landslide to occur.

The layered and fractured rock structure was the "main internal and objective factor" leading to the landslide, the team said in a news release.

Furthermore, prior rainfall in the area softened the weak planes within the rock mass, it said.

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The rainy and snowy weather before the landslide led to the enrichment of groundwater, ultimately reaching a critical point that triggered the landslide, according to the release.

 With Xinhua inputs