At least eight dead as landslide triggered by heavy rain buries city homes

A landslide on Friday on the outskirts of the south-western Chinese city of Chongqing killed at least eight people and left 34 missing, burying residential buildings and forcing more than 1,100 people to leave, according to local officials and state media reports.

The landslide occurred at about 9.08am in Pengshui county on the outer edge of the Chongqing municipality, when massive amounts of rocks and soil washed downslope, burying more than 10 residential buildings, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Ten people were rescued from the debris, including two who were seriously injured, Pengshui county mayor Ren Xujiang said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping asked authorities to determine the cause of the disaster, state media said.

Water, electricity and gas supplies were cut off within a 1.0km radius of the landslide to prevent further disruptions. More than 800 rescuers were on site, a local government statement said.

Images by CCTV showed part of a mountainside collapsing onto a residential area. Several buildings were located next to the collapse site, while rescue crews combed through the debris.

Rescue efforts were hindered by the unstable terrain and the risk of another landslide, according to the broadcaster.

Images shared on social media showed orange-clad rescuers using excavators to dig through the rubble. At one point, a team of rescuers pulled a survivor out of the debris.

Large slabs of rock had slid beside buildings into a waterway below.

Two buildings that looked about five and 15 stories high were damaged but still standing.

The rain-triggered landslide occurred near a section of the Wujiang river, which cuts through karst mountains peppered with small towns and terraces.

Authorities said they sent more than 8,000 disaster relief items to Chongqing, including tents, folding beds and family emergency kits.

Pengshui County is located in the south-east part of Chongqing, bordering the provinces of Hubei and Guizhou.