A landslide in southwestern China on Saturday night has resulted in at least one death, with 28 people still missing, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported Sunday.
The disaster struck Jinping village in Sichuan province at 11:50 AM (03:50 GMT), burying ten homes and trapping several residents.
Images from state media show a massive mudslide and rockfall cascading from a steep mountainside, devastating what seems to be a small village.
Hundreds of emergency workers are searching for survivors, and about 200 people have been evacuated, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.
President Xi Jinping has instructed officials to “spare no effort in the search for missing people, minimize casualties, and handle the aftermath,” according to Xinhua.
Premier Li Qiang has called for an investigation into potential geological hazards in nearby regions and directed the evacuation of at-risk residents to prevent further disasters.
Villagers had reportedly noticed large rocks rolling down the mountain frequently over the last six months. The central government has allocated 50 million yuan (about $6.9 million) to restore infrastructure and public services.
In January 2024, a landslide in Yunnan province, southwestern China, killed dozens and destroyed part of a village, following a similar deadly landslide in the region 11 years earlier that killed at least 18 people.