Rescuers in north China's Hebei Province are searching for the four missing people in the landslide that hit Xigou Village in Luanping County on Monday, with other relief efforts underway at the meantime.
The landslide, triggered by heavy rainfall, initially left eight people missing, and four of the missing ones have been found dead.
In the worst-hit areas, some buildings have been buried in rocks, which makes it harder to carry out the rescue operations.
"We had dug two to three meters before we saw the buildings. We are searching for the missing ones with the assistance of excavators, sniffer dogs and life detectors," said Yi Ganggang, a rescuer.
What's worse, the village was hit by a heavy rain on Monday night, forcing rescuers to evacuate villagers from dangerous areas.
"More than 20 elderly people, children and women were evacuated. The places where they stayed were really vulnerable to mountain torrents at any time," said Yi.
The landslide cut off water supply and caused power and communication outages in the village, forcing rescuers to enter affected areas on foot.
A team of 42 rescuers were dispatched by the provincial firefighting department to the village on Tuesday, while a 50-member medical team was also sent by the county's government to offer medical and disinfection services.
Workers are also racing against time to repair the three rain-ravaged roads to Mayingzi Township, where the village is located. As of Tuesday noon, one of the three roads has been reopened.
Search for missing ones, relief efforts underway in landslide-hit village in Hebei
U.S. President Donald Trump posted "Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time!" on social media on Sunday, a message that appeared to signal a possible extension of the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
On March 21, Trump threatened to hit and obliterate Iranian power plants if the country fails to fully open the strait within 48 hours. Two days later, he postponed strikes on power plants for five days, claiming to have held productive conversations with Iran.
On March 26, Trump again pushed the deadline back, saying that he will pause planned strikes on Iranian energy facilities for 10 days, to April 6, the upcoming Monday at 20:00 Eastern Time. On Saturday, Trump reaffirmed that Iran has 48 hours to strike a deal on opening up the strait or face "Hell."
However, in the post on Sunday, Trump appeared to hint at extending the deadline for Iran to reopen the strait for another time.
In a post earlier Sunday, the U.S. president threatened that Tuesday would be "Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one" for Iran, and again urged Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite the threats, Trump said on Sunday that he believes a deal can be reached before the deadline, adding that Iran is currently negotiating. If Iran refuses, he said he is considering bombing everything and seizing Iran's oil.
Ali Abdollahi, chief commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, responded Saturday that the Iranian armed forces would not hesitate for a moment to defend the country's rights and protect national assets and will put the aggressors in their place.
Trump also claimed that earlier this year, the U.S. sent weapons to Iranian protesters through the Kurds, though he believes the Kurds took them.
He also said he was very satisfied with a recent operation to rescue the pilot of a U.S. fighter jet that was shot down in Iranian airspace. He said Israel had assisted with the rescue, describing the bilateral relationship as big brother and little brother.
Trump hints at extending deadline for Iran to reopen Strait of Hormuz
