Rescuers in southwest China race extreme weather to reach residents trapped by landslide
Beijing activates a Level 2 national emergency response as heavy rainfall triggers a major landslide in Pengshui county
Hundreds of rescuers are racing against incoming thunderstorms in southwestern China after a landslide struck Chongqing’s Pengshui county on Friday morning, destroying buildings and leaving residents trapped under mud and debris.
Local community officials in Hanjia subdistrict of Chongqing’s Pengshui Miao and Tujia autonomous county, witnessed sporadic rockfalls and issued an emergency warning at about 8am on Friday. They rushed to evacuate more than 60 residents, according to mainland news portal Thepaper.cn.
The report said a large landslide occurred about an hour later, crashing through several residential buildings and trapping residents who were in the process of leaving.
Ten people had been rescued by 2pm, the outlet said, quoting a government source.
It said more than 1,100 people living near the landslide site had been safely evacuated while water, electricity and gas were cut off within a 1km radius of the disaster site to aid risk assessment. More than 800 rescuers were at the scene.
