At least eight people are dead and 34 remain missing after a rain-triggered landslide buried residential buildings in southwest China's Chongqing municipality on Friday.The landslide struck at around 9.08 am in Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County, after local officials reported sporadic rockfalls about an hour earlier and began evacuating residents.

Despite the early warning, huge volumes of rock and mud crashed down the mountainside, engulfing more than 10 residential buildings near the Wujiang River.Authorities said 18 people had been rescued, including two with serious injuries, while more than 1,100 residents from surrounding areas were safely evacuated. Water, electricity and gas supplies were cut within a one-kilometre radius of the site to reduce the risk of further accidents.

More than 800 rescuers, supported by fire crews, emergency responders and specialist search teams, were deployed to the disaster zone. Rescue workers used excavators, life-detection equipment and slope-monitoring radar to search for survivors, but operations were slowed by unstable ground and the threat of additional landslides. Thunderstorms forecast for the region were also expected to complicate rescue efforts.

China's Ministry of Emergency Management activated a Level II national emergency response for geological disasters and dispatched a working group led by emergency management minister Zhang Chengzhong to oversee operations. The National Mine Emergency Rescue Team and National Tunnel Emergency Rescue Team also joined the effort with personnel, vehicles and specialised equipment.

The ministries of finance and emergency management allocated 50 million yuan (about Rs 71 crores) in disaster relief funds to support rescue operations and provide emergency supplies, including tents, folding beds and family relief kits.

President Xi Jinping called for search and rescue operations to be carried out "in a scientific manner" and urged every effort to locate those still trapped. Premier Li Qiang directed authorities to treat the injured, relocate affected residents and take steps to prevent secondary disasters as heavy rain continues to threaten parts of southwest China.