CHONGQING, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a mountain collapse in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality has risen to 11, with 50 people still missing and 10 others injured, local authorities said Thursday.
The rainfall-induced disaster occurred at 9:08 a.m. on July 17 in Hanjia sub-district of Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County, along a section of the Wujiang River. More than 10 residential buildings were buried.
Repeated searches using life-detection equipment have found no signs of life at the site of the geological disaster, according to the on-site rescue headquarters.
Rescue work has been hampered by the large volume of collapsed material, massive boulders, limited working space and unstable slopes. Professional teams have deployed heavy machinery, drones and detection equipment, using controlled blasting and layer-by-layer excavation while guarding against secondary disasters.
Authorities said the latest figures were confirmed through on-site registration, household visits, public tip collection and cross-checking of information.
Search operations are continuing, while local authorities are providing assistance to affected families and inspecting geological hazards across the county. ■
