A landslide in the Sichuan province of southwestern China led to the death of fourteen individuals, with five more reported missing, as declared by local government officials on Sunday.
The landslide reportedly occurred early in the morning at 6 am (2200 GMT Saturday) at a state-owned forestry station in Jinkouhe, located close to the city of Leshan.
As per the official statement, the bodies of 14 victims had been retrieved, while five individuals were still unaccounted for.
In response, over 180 personnel and a variety of rescue equipment were deployed to the disaster area.
The statement further added that urgent search and rescue efforts were in progress. The affected site is situated within a mountainous region approximately 240 kilometers (150 miles) south of the provincial capital, Chengdu.
Landslides pose a recurring threat in China’s rural and mountainous regions, particularly during the country’s rainy summer season.
A series of landslides occurred in the province in 2017 due to extreme weather conditions, including one that entirely engulfed the mountain village of Xinmo, burying more than 60 residences.
Despite China having reinforced safety measures within its extractive industries, accidents continue to be a common occurrence.
Earlier in February, a slope collapse at a mine in the northern Inner Mongolia region resulted in more than 50 people being deemed as “missing or dead”.
