BEIJING, July 24 — The death toll from a landslide in south-western China rose to 11, with rescuers still searching for 50 missing people in the rubble, where there are “no signs of life”, according to authorities.

The landslide, which occurred last Friday in Chongqing’s Pengshui County, swept away several residential buildings at the foot of a mountain and along a riverbank.

Hundreds of rescue workers have been deployed to the scene, where footage from state media showed a huge pile of rocks and earth had 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 in a statement on social media late yesterday.

“Rescue efforts have been exceptionally challenging due to the massive volume of the landslide debris, the large size and sheer number of fallen boulders, the confined working space at the site, and the poor stability of the slopes,” the statement said.

“Specialist teams are continuing to carry out the search for remains in a scientific and orderly manner, working round the clock.”

Ten people were injured, it added.

Authorities had previously reported eight dead and 34 missing.

The disaster occurred less than two weeks after another landslide in northwestern Gansu province buried 33 people and left 21 dead. — AFP