Indian pilgrims' visit to sacred mountain, lake in China to be resumed in summer: spokesman

Indian pilgrims can resume their pilgrimage to a holy mountain and sacred lake in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region this summer, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press briefing in Beijing on Monday.

Guo made the statement in response to a media query about the Indian Ministry of External Affairs' recent announcement that it will organize a pilgrimage for Indian pilgrims to the holy mountain and sacred lake in Xizang, China, from June to August this year.

"Indian pilgrimage to Mount Gang Renpoche and Lake Mapam Yun Tso in Xizang Autonomous Region of China is an important part of the cultural and people-to-people exchange between the two countries. Mount Gang Renpoche and Lake Mapam Yun Tso are the 'sacred mountain and lake' for believers of several religions, including Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism," Guo said.

"As agreed between China and India, the pilgrimage will resume this summer. The two sides are advancing relevant preparations at the moment. This year marks the 75th anniversary of China-India diplomatic ties. China stands ready to work with India to earnestly implement the important common understandings between the leaders of the two countries and advance China-India relations on the track of sound and stable development," said the spokesman.

Indian pilgrims' visit to sacred mountain, lake in China to be resumed in summer: spokesman

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight