ONE BOULDER WAS LARGER THAN A MULTI-STORY BUILDING — NEW DETAILS REVEAL THE SHEER FORCE OF CHINA’S DEADLY LANDSLIDE
The landslide occurred in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing on Friday morning, when massive amounts of rocks and soil washed down a slope, burying more than 10 residential buildings, state broadcaster CCTV said.
Footage showed the moment a pile of rocks crashed down a mountainside and engulfed the street below.
Passersby can be seen running away and screaming in fear, as a huge plume of dust envelops the street.
Separate photos and videos showed that one of the fallen rocks appeared larger than a multistory building, with ruins scattered across the steep terrain.
One of the damaged buildings had its top part crushed, and a car was seen half-buried near another building.
The landslide contained about 18,000 cubic meters of rocks and debris, and the largest single rock was around 3,000 cubic meters, Wang Chuanjun, head of Planning and Natural Resources in Pengshui County, told a news conference on Friday.
Ten people were rescued and sent to the hospital, while more than 1,100 people have been relocated
+6
View gallery
A massive landslide swept through a street in China , killing at least eight people
+6
View gallery
Video grab shows the moment a pile of rocks crashed down a mountainside
+6
View gallery
Passersby can be seen running away and screaming in fear
CCTV reported that persistent rain hit Pengshui from Friday night to Saturday morning, with 8 inches of rainfall recorded at a weather station.
The unstable weather made the rescue operation more challenging, it said.
As the rain eased slightly, rescue teams entered the site to conduct on-the-ground inspections of the collapsed buildings and riverbank areas.
While rescue operations are being carried out on one side of the massive rocks, teams will later need to look beneath them, where they may risk injury if the boulders become unstable and slide, CCTV reported.
Once the search of the surrounding areas is complete, officers will drill into the boulders and fill the holes with explosives to break them apart, it said.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission on Saturday allocated a relief fund of 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) to support the restoration of infrastructure and public service facilities following the disaster.
+6
View gallery
Rescuers conduct a search and rescue operation at the scene of a landslide in Pengshui County in southwestern China’s Chongqing on Saturday, July 18, 2026
+6
View gallery
Rescue vehicles stand by on the bridge as rescuers conduct a search and rescue operation at the scene of a landslide in Pengshui County in southwestern China’s Chongqing on Saturday, July 18
+6
View gallery
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescuers conduct search and rescue operation on the site of the landslide in Pengshui County in southwestern China’s Chongqing on Friday, July 17, 2026
The rain-triggered landslide occurred near a stretch of the Wujiang River, which cuts through karst mountains peppered with small towns and terraces.
Pengshui County is located in the southeast part of Chongqing, bordering the provinces of Hubei and Guizhou.
SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15986999/Moment-terrifying-landslide-engulfs-street-China-kills-eight-34-missing-resuers-race-reach-survivors.html