Eight people have been confirmed dead and 34 others remain missing after a rainfall-induced mountain collapse occurred along a section of the Wujiang River in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Friday, local authorities said.
Ten people have been rescued, and search and rescue operations are underway, according to a press briefing held on Friday night.
The geological disaster occurred at 09:08 on Friday in the Hanjia sub-district of Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County in Chongqing, burying more than 10 residential buildings, while leaving some local residents trapped and unaccounted for.
Following the disaster, local authorities immediately activated a top emergency response of Level I for geological disasters and a Level III emergency response for flood control, making every effort to carry out rescue and relief work, assess risks, and relocate affected residents.
"After the disaster occurred, our county immediately activated a Level I emergency response for geological disasters. We mobilized over 200 personnel from local rescue forces, including emergency response, fire, public security, health, and planning and resources departments, and deployed 40 sets of rescue equipment to carry out on-site search and rescue, slope monitoring, and resettlement of affected residents," said Ren Xujiang, head of Pengshui County.
In addition to local rescue forces, more than 680 professional rescue personnel were dispatched to the scene under the coordination of the Ministry of Emergency Management and relevant departments in Chongqing.
More than 1,100 people living in the vicinity of the disaster site have been evacuated to safety, including more than 60 people who were transferred in advance from the core area of the landslide.
At the Pengshui County People's Hospital, where all the 10 injured people were receiving treatment, community worker Peng Di recalled how they organized the emergency evacuation of residents when she found rocks falling during a safety patrol with her colleagues. She got hurt when a building collapsed after evacuating a group of residents.
"During the patrol, we noticed loose rocks falling down the slope, which seemed dangerous because they were hitting the steel sheds and making thumping noises. We decided to evacuate residents first. So we went from house to house, asking them to come downstairs and directing them to safety," she said.
Another injured person, Ran Shifang, said that it was Peng Di's shouts that enabled her to run downstairs in time.
"They were telling us to run to either side, so I walked towards the side that hadn't collapsed. After I walked for some distance, not very far, the building collapsed," Ran said.
China has a four-tier emergency response system for geological disasters, with Level I being the most severe. The Level II response is activated for major risks involving threats to residents, buried structures or missing persons.
8 dead, 34 missing after mountain collapse hits China's Chongqing
