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
