Ministries rush teams to landslide-hit Sichuan county

The Ministry of Emergency Management and the Ministry of Natural Resources have dispatched teams to Junlian county, Sichuan province, which was struck by a landslide on Saturday, the two ministries have announced.

By 11 am on Sunday, local authorities have confirmed that 10 residential houses and one production building had been buried, resulting in one death, 28 people missing and two injured.

Upon receiving the report on Saturday, the Ministry of Emergency Management held a video conference with local authorities and on-site commanders, instructing them to quickly verify the situation and mobilize rescue forces.

Also on Saturday, the ministry activated a Level III emergency response, sent a team led by the minister to the site and dispatched a national comprehensive firefighting rescue team consisting of 345 people, 101 vehicles and eight search dogs, the emergency management ministry said.

Additionally, the National Mine Emergency Rescue Sichuan Coal Team with 26 people and four vehicles, as well as 45 people from China Anneng Construction Group Corporation with 22 sets of equipment, have rushed to the scene for rescue operations, it said.

Sichuan Coal Team, an emergency rescue team established with the support of Sichuan Coal Huarong Energy Co Ltd, is one of the first seven national mine emergency rescue teams that are key national construction projects.

Besides the emergency management ministry, the Ministry of Natural Resources also dispatched an expert group led by a deputy minister on Saturday to guide on-site rescue efforts, and its division, China Geological Survey, also sent 12 experts to enhance automated monitoring, early warning analysis, and meteorological risk assessments for the landslide, providing imaging support for emergency mapping, the natural resources ministry said.

Locally, the Sichuan department of natural resources sent its expert group, and relevant officials from Yibin city and Junlian county have arrived to assist with emergency response operations, it added.

On Saturday, the Ministry of Natural Resources initiated a Level III response for geological disaster defense at 1:10 pm and upgraded to Level II at 4 pm, the ministry said.