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Landslide in Chongqing’s Pengshui traps residents as rescuers race storms
China activated a Level 2 national emergency response for geological disasters, with a senior emergency-management working group sent to guide rescue efforts.
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 trapping residents under mud and debris, according to SCMP Economy.
Local officials in Hanjia subdistrict issued an emergency warning around 8:00 a.m. after sporadic rockfalls, then evacuated more than 60 residents. About an hour later, a large landslide crashed through several residential buildings while people were in the process of leaving, SCMP Economy reported.
The outlet said nine people had been rescued by midday, with none reported to have life-threatening injuries. The county government said the rescue effort was still ongoing and that any updates on casualties would be released later.
China’s Ministry of Emergency Management activated a Level 2 national emergency response for geological disasters around noon on Friday, sending a working group led by Minister Zhang Chengzhong to guide rescue operations at the scene, according to SCMP Economy and Xinhua.