'No signs of life' as China landslip toll rises to 14
The death toll from a landslide in Chongqing, China, has risen to 14, with rescuers warning that dozens more remain missing. Search efforts are being hampered by unstable terrain and massive debris.
Why it matters
This disaster underscores the ongoing risks of geological instability in mountainous regions and the challenges of large-scale rescue operations.
Rescuers pulled another three bodies from the rubble of a landslide in southwestern China on Friday (July 24, 2026), bringing the toll to 14, as they warned that dozens more have probably died.
The landslip, which happened last Friday (July 24, 2026) in Chongqing's Pengshui County, swept away residential buildings at the foot of a mountain and along a riverbank — where rescuers said Thursday they were searching for 50 missing people.
Pengshui authorities said on Friday they had carried out "multiple rounds" of targeted blasts on fallen boulders to reduce the risk of secondary disasters and hazards to rescuers.
Hundreds of rescue workers have been deployed, with footage from state media showing a huge pile of rocks and earth collapsed into a residential and commercial street.
However, "following multiple rounds of life detection and search operations, no signs of life have been detected", Pengshui authorities said previously.
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