Mountain collapse in China's Chongqing leaves 8 dead, 34 missing
Eight people have been confirmed dead and 34 others remain missing after a mountain collapse triggered by heavy rainfall struck southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Friday, local authorities said, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing Xinhua .
Ten people have been rescued, while search and rescue operations are continuing, officials said at a press briefing on Friday night.
The collapse occurred at 9:08 a.m. on Friday in the Hanjia sub-district of Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County in Chongqing, burying more than 10 residential buildings, and leaving several residents trapped or unaccounted for.
China has activated a Level-II national emergency response for geological disasters, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management. The Ministry has dispatched a working group to the site to oversee rescue and emergency response efforts.
China Anneng Construction Group, a state-owned engineering rescue force, has sent 110 rescuers, including engineering and geological experts, along with 50 sets of detection, search and rescue equipment to assist in the operation.
Meanwhile, Chongqing's fire brigade has deployed more than 400 personnel from eight firefighting units, together with communications and medical support teams.
As of 14:27, 9 trapped people have been rescued and sent to hospital; all are out of immediate life‑threatening danger. Full‑scale search‑and‑rescue operations are ongoing.⛑️ https://t.co/DufBS3UEwT
— iChongqing (@iChongqing_CIMC) July 17, 2026
Earlier, it was reported that the death toll from last month's consecutive earthquakes in Venezuela rose to 5,069.