Over 120 soldiers and militia members have been working tirelessly to conduct search and rescue operations, provide hot meals, and monitor disaster conditions in the aftermath of a recent devastating landslide in Yibin City, southwest China's Sichuan Province.
The landslide occurred at 11:50 on Saturday in Jinping Village of Junlian County.
As of Sunday, it had left one person dead, 28 missing and two injured.
The two injured have been transferred to the West China Hospital of Sichuan University in Chengdu City for further treatment, accompanied by medical experts.
Following initial treatment by experts, they showed stable vital signs but required specialized care.
As the risk of further landslides remains high due to ongoing mountain instability, local authorities have been conducting thorough assessments of the affected areas.
"Following the landslide, the entire mountain remains at risk of secondary collapses. The People's Armed Forces Department (PAFD) deployed over 10 militia members to continuously monitor the area, closely assessing the surrounding geological conditions to safeguard the rescuers' safety and ensure the smooth operation of the rescue," said Hu Yiqian, member of the Junlian Militia Company.
Meanwhile in Mu'ai Town, the local militia has been working around the clock to provide hot meals for evacuated residents and rescuers.
To meet the demand, they have been cooking in large batches and serving food in multiple rounds. Since the disaster struck, they have distributed over 3,000 portions to the affected population.
On Sunday evening, light rain fell over Jinping Village, but the militia continued their efforts to support the rescue work in the landslide area.
Despite the challenging conditions, including steep mountain paths, slippery roads, and continuous rain, they managed to transport generators and lighting equipment to the site by carrying them manually through narrow roads.
By 22:00, they had successfully delivered the equipment to aid the search and rescue operations.
To support the ongoing relief efforts, the Ministry of Transport has activated an emergency rescue green channel for vehicles, ensuring that emergency vehicles can pass freely.
As of 16:00 Sunday, the communications network in the affected area has been fully restored to pre-disaster levels, after overcoming difficulties such as damaged base stations and optical cables.
The rescue operations are ongoing, and local authorities are committed to providing further assistance as needed.
Rescue efforts in Sichuan continue amid challenging conditions after deadly landslide
China will take more effective measures to improve people's wellbeing, especially in education, healthcare, and social security, an official said Thursday in Beijing at a press conference on the interpretation of this year's government work report, which was submitted to the national legislature for deliberation earlier in the day.
Shen Danyang, head of the government work report drafting team and director of the State Council Research Office, said centering on enhancing educational equity and quality, the report made arrangements for education at all educational stages and of all types.
"Regarding preschool education, the policy of free education in the year prior to entering primary school will continue to be implemented this year, which is commonly referred to as free admission to the senior class of kindergartens. So, how can the income reduction of kindergartens be addressed? Subsidies will be provided by both the central and local governments, with the central government taking the lion's share. This year, the funds allocated to support the development of preschool education will increase significantly by 37.8 percent to ensure the implementation of the beneficial policy," he said.
Regarding senior high school education, Shen said the report stated that the supply of regular senior high school places will be increased,
Specifically, for areas with a continuous net inflow of population, a number of regular high schools will be planned and constructed on an annual basis. For regions with a temporary shortage of school places, priority will be given to the renovation and expansion of existing teaching buildings, student dormitories and canteens, he said.
Shen said the report put forward many supportive measures in healthcare.
"For instance, it urged efforts to strengthen coordination in drug use at the grassroots level, which mean improving the list of essential drugs, and optimizing the channels for drug supply and drug use coordination between upper- and lower-level medical and health institutions to make it more convenient for the public to use drugs at their doorstep. Besides, the report has made arrangements for supporting the development of innovative drugs for the third consecutive year. This year, China will strengthen the coordination of supportive policies in an all-round way, further address issues such as the barriers facing innovative drugs entering hospitals, and better meet the diverse medical and medication needs of the people," he said.
In terms of social security, Shen said the report proposed to continue raising the minimum standard of basic pensions for urban and rural residents -- a policy will benefit over 180 million elderly people.
"The central government will allocate 1.25 trillion yuan (about 181.25 billion U.S. dollars) in subsidy funds to ensure the timely and full payment of pensions. In response to the insufficient protection of the rights and interests of people engaging in new occupations, the report proposed to steadily and orderly expand the scale of the pilot program for occupational injury insurance. This year, the policy will cover 31 provincial-level regions across the country and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Meanwhile, enterprises specializing in travel, instant delivery and intra-city freight delivery will be included in the pilot program, which will ensure the safety of more laborers, such as food delivery workers and online car-hailing drivers," he said.
China to improve people's wellbeing in education, healthcare, social security: official
