Eight killed, at least 34 missing after landslide in China’s Chongqing

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing AFP, The Associated Press and Chinese state media, reported that a landslide in Chongqing’s Pengshui county killed eight people and left at least 34 others missing on Friday. The disaster occurred at about 9:10am local time in the southwestern Chinese municipality, where homes were buried and more than 1,100 residents were displaced.

State broadcaster CCTV showed rocks and earth piled across part of a residential and commercial street below a mountain, according to the report. Xinhua said 10 people had been pulled from the debris, including two with serious injuries. More than 800 rescue personnel were deployed to the site, while authorities cut water, electricity and gas within a one-kilometre area to reduce further risk and disruption.

Officials also sent more than 8,000 relief items, including tents, folding beds and emergency kits, to assist affected residents. China’s Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Emergency Management allocated 50 million yuan, about $7.36m, for rescue work, disaster relief and support for those affected. President Xi Jinping urged officials to organize search efforts carefully and investigate the cause quickly, Xinhua reported.

Pengshui county lies in southeastern Chongqing near Hubei and Guizhou provinces. A local official described the affected area as steep and difficult to predict, with dangerous rocks still present along the cliffside. The disaster follows another deadly landslide earlier in July in the mountainous western province of Gansu, where 21 people were killed, underscoring the recurring hazard of slope failures in parts of China’s rugged terrain.