Three people have been confirmed dead and nine remain missing after a landslide triggered by heavy rain struck Gaoping town in Suichuan county, Jiangxi province, on Saturday, local authorities said.
The disaster occurred around 4am on September 5, destroying 12 houses, eight of which collapsed completely. Rescuers have pulled three people from the rubble, with one confirmed dead and two in stable condition. The death toll has since risen to three, with nine still unaccounted for.
The affected area has been cut off from water, electricity and telecommunications, hampering rescue efforts. Local authorities have deployed emergency and fire crews with life-detection equipment to search for survivors, while evacuating residents from high-risk zones.
Suichuan had experienced days of heavy rain, with a Level IV flood emergency response activated on September 1. An orange alert for geological disasters had also been issued for southwestern Ji'an city.
