CHONGQING: Rescue crews on Saturday (Jul 18) raced to find survivors from a landslide in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing that killed at least eight people and left 34 missing.The landslide occurred in Pengshui County on Friday morning on the outskirts of Chongqing municipality, when massive amounts of rocks and soil washed down a slope, burying more than 10 residential buildings, state broadcaster CCTV said.Ten people were rescued and sent to the hospital, while more than 1,100 people have been relocated.Associated Press photos and videos showed that one of the fallen rocks appeared larger than a multistory building, with ruins scattered across the steep terrain.
One of the damaged buildings had its top part crushed and a car was seen half-buried near another building.The landslide contained about 18,000 cubic metres of rocks and debris, and the largest single rock was around 3,000 cubic metres, Wang Chuanjun, head of Planning and Natural Resources in Pengshui County, told a news conference on Friday.CCTV said persistent rain hit Pengshui from Friday night to Saturday morning, with 19.2 centimetres recorded at a weather station.The unstable weather made the rescue operation more challenging, it said.As the rain eased slightly, rescue teams entered the site to conduct on-the-ground inspections of the collapsed buildings and riverbank areas.
