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An unknown number of people were buried after a landslide struck a county in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing on Friday, causing residential buildings downhill to collapse, according to state media.
Preliminary verification indicated that a Pengshui county community worker spotted scattered falling rocks around 8 a.m. local time and issued an emergency warning, state broadcaster CCTV said.
Authorities ordered an evacuation affecting more than 60 residents, but the landslide occurred during the evacuation at 9:08 a.m., burying some people.
The exact number of those trapped was still being confirmed, the report said.
Nine people had been pulled from the rubble, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
It was not immediately clear what caused the landslide.
Aerial footage from CCTV showed rock and debris falling on a cluster of riverside residential buildings, while people could be seen fleeing with a thick plume of dust billowing behind them.
A dashcam video posted on X, verified by Reuters, showed a section of hillside collapsing onto homes and businesses below, sending debris across the road and forcing passing cars and a motorcycle to stop.
China’s Ministry of Emergency Management activated a level-two emergency response and dispatched a 100-member rescue team to the scene, the ministry said in a statement.
Some 206 personnel and 49 vehicles from China’s fire and rescue force were sent to the site to assist in rescue efforts, the ministry said.