KABUL (Pajhwok): Eight people have been killed and 34 others remained missing after a landslide struck Pengshui County in southwest China’s Chongqing municipality, local authorities said.
The landslide occurred at about 9:08am local time, after community workers had detected falling rocks about an hour earlier and issued an emergency warning, officials told a press conference, Reuters reported.
Authorities evacuated more than 60 residents before the landslide, but the disaster struck while the evacuation was still underway. The landslide destroyed several residential buildings and forced more than 1,000 people in nearby areas to leave their homes.
Local officials said 10 people were injured, including two seriously and two critically.
Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered search and rescue operations for the missing and called for an investigation into the cause of the landslide.
China’s Ministry of Emergency Management activated a level-two emergency response and dispatched a 100-member rescue team to the site.
In addition, 206 firefighters and rescuers, along with 49 vehicles, were deployed to assist in the operation. The cause of the landslide was not immediately known.
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