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Rescue under way after landslide traps people in China

Part of a mountainside collapsed onto a residential area in China's Chongqing on Friday. (AP PHOTO)

A landslide has buried residential buildings in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, trapping an undetermined number of people.

State broadcaster CCTV said at least nine people were rescued from the debris and search and rescue operations were ongoing.

CCTV said the landslide occurred on Friday morning in Chongqing’s Pengshui County. 

Firefighters arrive to the landslide scene in China's Chongqing
Rescuers have raced to the scene of a landslide that buried residential buildings in Chongqing. (AP PHOTO)

Massive amounts of rocks and soil washed downslope, burying more than 10 residential buildings, and rescuers were using more than 50 sets of detection, search and rescue equipment, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Images by CCTV showed part of a mountainside collapsing onto a residential area. 

Several buildings were next to the collapse site, while rescue crews were seen searching through the debris.

Photos showed large slabs of rock sliding beside buildings several stories high into a waterway below. 

Two buildings that looked about five and 15 stories high were damaged but still standing.

The rain-triggered landslide occurred near a section of the Wujiang River, which cuts through karst mountains peppered with small towns and terraces.

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