Emergency crews in China worked frantically Saturday to locate survivors after a devastating landslide in the southwestern city of Chongqing claimed at least eight lives and left 34 people still missing.
The disaster struck Pengshui County on Friday morning, when enormous quantities of rock and soil cascaded down a hillside, burying more than ten residential buildings, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Ten survivors were pulled from the debris and transported to the hospital, while authorities relocated more than 1,100 residents from the area.
Photographs and video from the scene revealed the sheer scale of the destruction — one of the boulders appeared to be larger than a multi-story building, with wreckage spread across the rugged, steep landscape. One structure had its upper portion completely crushed, and a vehicle was visible half-buried near another building.
Officials said the landslide involved approximately 18,000 cubic meters of rocks and debris. The single largest boulder measured around 3,000 cubic meters, according to Wang Chuanjun, the head of Planning and Natural Resources in Pengshui County, who spoke at a news conference Friday.
CCTV reported that heavy rain continued to pound Pengshui from Friday night into Saturday morning, with one weather station recording 19.2 centimeters — nearly 8 inches — of rainfall. The ongoing wet conditions made the rescue mission significantly more difficult. As the rain began to let up somewhat, search teams were able to enter the site and assess the collapsed buildings and nearby riverbank areas.
Rescue workers are currently operating around the perimeter of the massive boulders, but crews will eventually need to search beneath them — a dangerous task given the risk of the unstable rocks shifting or sliding. CCTV reported that once the surrounding search is finished, workers plan to drill into the boulders and pack the holes with explosives to break them apart.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission announced Saturday that it has allocated 30 million yuan — approximately $4.4 million — in relief funding to help rebuild infrastructure and restore public services in the disaster zone.
The landslide took place near a stretch of the Wujiang River, which winds through karst mountain terrain dotted with small communities and terraced hillsides. Pengshui County sits in the southeastern portion of Chongqing, along the borders of Hubei and Guizhou provinces.
