According to official media on Sunday, a landslip caused by intense rain in the southwest Sichuan province of China has killed at least one person and left almost thirty others missing.
In recent months, China has seen severe weather; last year’s floods, which were the warmest on record, claimed dozens of lives.
Climate change, according to scientists, is increasing the frequency of extreme weather occurrences.
Around 11:50 a.m. (0350 GMT), a landslip struck Jinping village in Yibin on Saturday.
State news agency Xinhua said that “one person has been killed and 28 people are missing” as of Sunday morning.
More than 900 rescuers are working to locate the remaining missing individuals, while two people were rescued on Saturday, according to Xinhua.
CCTV, the state channel, released a video early Sunday that showed rescuers sifting amid the wreckage in the dark with flashlights.
“A preliminary study indicates that geological factors and recent prolonged rainfall were responsible for this disaster,” CCTV reported, quoting local authorities.
On Saturday, officials were instructed by President Xi Jinping to take “everything possible to search for and rescue missing people, minimise casualties, and properly handle the aftermath.”
