Rescuers race to find 34 missing after Chongqing landslide kills 8 as rain hampers search
Heavy rain and unstable rocks complicate rescue efforts in Pengshui County after a large landslide buried over 10 buildings, leaving 8 dead and 34 unaccounted for.
Landslide strikes Pengshui County
On Friday morning, 17 July, a landslide tore through Hanjia, a settlement in Pengshui County on the outskirts of Chongqing municipality in southwestern China. At around 09:00 local time, a torrent of rock and soil swept down a hillside and buried more than ten residential buildings. Wang Chuanjun, head of Planning and Natural Resources in Pengshui County, told a press conference that the slide involved approximately 18,000 cubic metres of material, with the largest single boulder estimated at 3,000 cubic metres. Images showed one fallen rock larger than a multi-storey building, the upper section of a building crushed, and a car half-buried in debris.
Rescue efforts and casualties
At least eight people have died and 34 remain missing. Emergency teams pulled 18 individuals alive from the rubble, but eight later succumbed to their injuries, leaving ten survivors hospitalised. Over 800 rescue workers, supported by excavators and search dogs, have been deployed to the site. State broadcaster CCTV showed a search dog barking to alert a rescuer to signs of life beneath the debris. More than 1,100 residents have been evacuated from the area, and authorities cut off water, electricity and gas to prevent secondary incidents. Volunteers on motorcycles delivered supplies to rescuers and stranded residents, while some locals reported that water was available only at certain intervals.
Rain and unstable terrain
Heavy rain fell from Friday night into Saturday morning, with one weather station recording 19.2 centimetres (nearly 8 inches) of precipitation. The unstable weather made the search particularly difficult, CCTV reported. As the rain eased slightly on Saturday, crews were able to access the collapsed structures and the riverbank. However, the risk of further rockfalls remains high. Rescue teams will later need to inspect the area beneath the massive boulders, where they could face injury if the rocks become unstable and shift. Once the search around the boulders is complete, officers plan to drill into them and fill the holes with explosives to break them apart, CCTV added.
- Landslide buries over 10 buildings in Hanjia, Pengshui County.
- Heavy rain begins, hampering rescue efforts.
- Rain eases; rescue teams access collapsed structures and riverbank.
- Authorities announce plan to drill and blast unstable boulders after search.
Government response and funding
China’s central government allocated 50 million yuan (about $7.3 million) for emergency operations and assistance to affected residents. Separately, the National Development and Reform Commission released 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) to support the restoration of infrastructure and public services. The Ministry of Emergency Management activated a level 2 national response for geological disasters. President Xi Jinping ordered an acceleration of rescue work, a thorough investigation of the cause, and reinforced inspections to prevent future geological risks.
We must learn from what happened and comprehensively eliminate potential geological risks and other hidden dangers.
Regional vulnerability
The landslide occurred near a section of the Wujiang River, which cuts through karst mountains dotted with small towns and terraces. Pengshui County borders Hubei and Guizhou provinces. The disaster comes less than two weeks after another rain-triggered landslide in Gansu province killed 21 people, highlighting the danger posed by heavy seasonal rainfall on the region’s steep terrain.
