At least eight people were killed and 34 others were still missing after a rain-triggered landslide buried residential buildings in southwestern China’s Chongqing municipality on Friday.The landslide occurred at around 9:08 a.m. in Pingshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County, after local officials reported scattered rockfalls about an hour earlier and began evacuating residents.
Despite the early warning, huge amounts of rocks and mud crashed down the mountainside, swallowing more than 10 residential buildings near the Wujiang River.Authorities said 18 people were rescued, including two seriously injured, while more than 1,100 residents were safely evacuated from surrounding areas. Water, electricity and gas supplies were cut off within a one-kilometre radius of the site to reduce the risk of further accidents.
More than 800 rescuers, supported by fire brigades, emergency responders and specialized search teams, were deployed to the disaster area. Rescue workers used excavators, life-detection equipment and radar to monitor the slopes to search for survivors, but operations were slowed by unstable ground and the threat of more landslides. Thunderstorm forecasts in the area are also expected to complicate rescue efforts.
China’s Ministry of Emergency Management has activated the national level-two emergency response to geological disasters and dispatched a working group led by Minister of Emergency Management Zhang Zhengzhong to supervise operations. The National Mine Emergency Rescue Team and the National Tunnel Emergency Rescue Team also joined the efforts with personnel, vehicles and specialized equipment.
The Ministries of Finance and Emergency Management have allocated 50 million yuan (about Rs 71 lakh crore) in disaster relief funds to support rescue operations and provide emergency supplies, including tents, folding beds and family relief kits.
President Xi Jinping called for search and rescue operations to be carried out in a “scientific manner” and urged every effort to be made to locate people still trapped. Premier Li Qiang directed authorities to treat the injured, transport affected residents and take steps to prevent secondary disasters as heavy rains continue to threaten parts of southwestern China.