Nine people have so far been rescued after a rainfall-induced landslide occurred along a section of the Wujiang River in southwest Chongqing municipality on Friday.

None of those rescued sustained life-threatening injuries, according to local authorities of Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County in Chongqing.

The geological disaster saw massive amounts of rock and soil wash downslope at 9.08am on Friday, burying more than 10 residential buildings, leaving an unknown number of local residents trapped and unaccounted for.

The Ministry of Emergency Management activated a level-two emergency response.

Jiang Wei, head of a professional emergency rescue team in Chongqing, said an all-out search and rescue mission has been launched.

China Anneng Construction Group, a state-owned engineering rescue force, has dispatched 110 professional rescuers, including engineering and geological experts, alongside 50 sets of detection, search and rescue equipment to support the disaster relief operation in Pengshui.

Rescuers said three power poles were buried, disrupting power supply in the affected area. Local power departments have dispatched 53 maintenance workers, 12 repair vehicles and one emergency power vehicle in the disaster response.

CCTV said preliminary reports indicated that a Pengshui county community worker spotted scattered falling rocks around 8am and issued an emergency warning. Authorities ordered an evacuation of more than 60 residents, but the landslide occurred during the evacuation.

Aerial footage showed rock and debris falling on a cluster of riverside residential buildings, while people could be seen fleeing with a thick plume of dust billowing behind them. (Xinhua & Reuters)



Edited by Azam Khan