Rescue workers in southwestern China turned to explosives Monday in a desperate attempt to reach 34 people who have been missing for three days following a devastating landslide triggered by heavy rainfall in a region known for its scenic landscapes.
The landslide struck Friday in Penghui county, roughly 270 kilometers — about 168 miles — from the sprawling urban center of Chongqing. Eight people lost their lives in the disaster. China ranks among the world’s most landslide-prone nations.
Video footage broadcast by state television network CCTV showed rescue teams shattering a massive boulder during Monday’s blasting operation. The broadcaster reported that the operation had moved into a “deep rescue phase,” though no further immediate details were provided.
The rescue effort comes after President Xi Jinping called for scientifically guided search and rescue operations for those still unaccounted for, along with a rapid investigation into what caused the landslide.
More than 1,100 residents were evacuated from the county, which is home to approximately 500,000 people. Many of the area’s communities are built along steep hillsides overlooking the Wujian river. Images and video from the scene showed a section of the collapsed mountainside tumbling into the river, blocking the main street of the narrow hillside township.
Officials have deployed teams to assess hidden geological hazards and track the possibility of secondary disasters, according to the official news agency Xinhua.
With heavy to torrential rain in the forecast through Monday across several provinces, authorities are urging stronger protective measures in high-risk areas already made vulnerable by saturated groundwater and ongoing construction activity. CCTV reported Monday that eight small and medium-sized rivers across Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Anhui, and Shanghai are currently running above flood warning levels.
Experts point to a combination of intense summer rainfall, rapid urban development and construction, and frequent seismic activity as major contributors to China’s disaster risk. Mountains, hills, and plateaus account for roughly two-thirds of China’s total land area.
Over the past decade, at least five major landslides have claimed approximately 294 lives across the country. The deadliest of those incidents occurred in December 2015, when a massive mound of construction debris collapsed at an industrial park in the southern technology hub of Shenzhen, killing more than 70 people.
