Landslide buries residents in southwest China's Chongqing

An unknown number of people are feared buried after a significant landslide struck a county in China's southwestern Chongqing municipality on Friday. The disaster caused multiple residential buildings on a hillside to collapse.

Authorities had ordered the evacuation of over 60 residents after a community worker in Pengshui county spotted falling rocks around 8 a.m. local time and issued an emergency warning. However, the landslide occurred at 9:08 a.m., during the evacuation process, trapping some individuals.

As of the latest reports, nine people have been pulled from the rubble. Fortunately, none of the rescued individuals are in life-threatening condition. Rescue operations are continuing as authorities work to determine the exact number of people trapped and search for survivors.

The cause of the landslide remains unclear. Aerial footage showed debris cascading onto riverside residential buildings, with dust clouds billowing as people fled the area. Dashcam video verified by Reuters captured a hillside collapsing onto homes and businesses, sending debris across a road and forcing vehicles to stop. China's Ministry of Emergency Management has activated a level-two emergency response, dispatching a 100-member rescue team and an additional 206 personnel with 49 vehicles from the fire and rescue force to the site.