GANSU, CHINA — A massive rescue operation is underway in western China after a catastrophic landslide struck a mountainous county, leaving at least 16 people buried beneath tons of mud and debris.

The disaster unfolded early Tuesday morning, July 7, 2026 in a village within Tanchang County, a rugged and disaster-prone region in Gansu Province.

According to state broadcaster CCTV, a total of 33 people were initially trapped when the mountainside gave way. Emergency response teams deployed to the scene immediately initiated search-and-rescue protocols, successfully pulling 17 survivors from the rubble by Tuesday afternoon.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered an "all-out" rescue effort, directing local authorities to utilize every available resource to locate the remaining 16 trapped individuals and to strictly guard against secondary disasters, such as additional mudslides.

While the exact geological trigger for Tuesday's landslide remains under investigation, the disaster coincides with a wave of severe monsoon weather terrorizing multiple regions across China.

The country is currently grappling with a deadly combination of natural disasters across multiple regions. In central China's Hubei Province, powerful thunderstorms, severe gales reaching 149 km/h, and devastating tornadoes swept through several cities on Monday night, leaving at least eight people dead, 275 injured, and one person missing.

Meanwhile, southern China's Guangxi region is facing widespread flooding fueled by Tropical Storm Maysak, which has claimed two lives and forced the urgent evacuation of roughly 48,000 residents after floodwaters breached reservoir dams.

Tanchang County and its surrounding terrain are notorious for geographic instability. Characterized by steep valleys and crisscrossing river networks, the region is highly susceptible to flash floods and mudslides during the annual rainy season. Local historical records highlight the vulnerability of the area; a massive mudslide in nearby Zhouqu in 2010 claimed over 1,500 lives.

With China’s National Meteorological Centre warning that up to 260 millimeters of torrential rain could fall over the next 24 hours across southeastern and eastern provinces, the threat of further landslides remains critically high for nearly 200 million residents living in the storm paths.