The death toll from a landslide in southwestern China earlier this month rose to 51, with 10 people still missing, authorities said Thursday.
“Currently 51 people have been found and confirmed dead, and 10 people are still missing,” Pengshui officials said on social media late Thursday.
The landslide, which occurred on July 17 in Chongqing’s Pengshui County, swept away several residential buildings at the foot of a mountain and along a riverbank.
Search crews ended a search on land, local authorities said Thursday.
Dredging and search operations in the Wujiang River are continuing, according to a statement from Pengshui County, outside the southwestern city of Chongqing, where falling rocks and soil buried more than 10 residential buildings and a minibus on July 17.
More than 1,100 people were evacuated and over 1,080 rescuers took part in the 325-hour search operation.
Rescuers faced serious challenges during the 325-hour operation, including massive boulders, elevation changes, tight spaces and high temperatures.
Underwater divers and robots also scoured the nearby river, while boulders were blasted away and more than 330,000 cubic metres of material was excavated.
The landslide injured 10 people, three of whom have since been discharged from the hospital.
“In this disaster, a total of over 1,100 people were safely evacuated,” Pengshui officials said, adding that 10 people were rescued, including three who had been briefly hospitalised.
Rescuers had previously warned last week that there were no longer any signs of life in the area.
“Efforts to support and comfort victims’ families, provide assistance and relief, and handle resettlement and post-disaster arrangements are progressing in an orderly manner,” authorities added.
Authorities sent more than 8,000 disaster relief items to Chongqing, including tents, folding beds and family emergency kits.
The government allocated 50 million yuan ($7.36 million) in natural disaster relief funds to support the rescue and relief operations and to provide assistance to affected residents.
Early warning systems played a role in limiting casualties.
A Pengshui county community worker spotted scattered falling rocks around 8 a.m. local time and issued an emergency warning, and authorities ordered an evacuation of more than 60 residents, but the landslide occurred during the evacuation at 9:08 a.m.
Ten people were rescued from the debris, including two who were seriously injured, Pengshui County Mayor Ren Xujiang said.
President Xi Jinping ordered search and rescue operations to be carried out for the missing and called for an investigation into the cause of the landslide.
In the viral moment that launched this disaster, a mountainside collapsed on July 17 at around 9:08 a.m. in Pengshui County on the outer edge of Chongqing municipality. Massive amounts of rocks and soil washed downslope, burying more than 10 residential buildings and trapping dozens of people. The landslide contained about 18,000 cubic meters of rocks and debris, with the largest single rock weighing around 3,000 cubic meters—roughly the size of a multistory building. State media showed footage of a huge pile of rocks and earth that had collapsed into a residential and commercial street at the base of the mountain, with rescue workers immediately deployed to the scene.
The area where the landslide happened is known for “unpredictable” steep terrain, a local official told a news conference, adding that dangerous rocks remain along the sides of the cliff.
More than 1,100 residents were evacuated, and traffic in the affected area is expected to resume soon.