Villagers Reveal Desperate Situation of Sichuan Mountain Landslide

In Sichuan’s Yibin City, Jinping Village in Yulong County has become a hot topic after a landslide hit on February 8, leaving little hope for the survival of the villagers. Local residents have revealed the current situation of the rescue efforts to a reporter from Dajiyuan.

According to official reports from mainland Chinese media, at around 11:50 on February 8, two sudden landslides occurred in Jinping Village of Muai Town, Yulong County, Yibin City. As of 11:00 on the 9th, it has been preliminarily confirmed that 10 households, 1 production facility, 1 fatality, 28 missing persons, and 2 injuries have resulted from the disaster.

A villager named Huang Sijia (alias) told Dajiyuan’s reporter that the official death toll of 29 people was determined because if it exceeds 30, the nature of the incident would change. She personally estimates that the number of casualties is definitely more than 30, mentioning cases where entire families or groups of friends have been affected.

Huang Sijia expressed that the rescue efforts are ongoing, but the chances of finding survivors are slim. She mentioned that the authorities seemed to be trying to downplay the situation, as excavators only started digging into the site on the second day, and journalists were asked to speak positively about the situation.

Another villager, Zhang Zhihao (alias), mentioned that over ten bodies have been discovered so far, and they have been placed in Muai Town. Some bodies were badly damaged by rocks, and their identities must be confirmed through DNA testing before cremation or burial.

After the incident, the area was restricted by the police, prohibiting villagers from entering, and neighboring residents were forcefully evacuated.

Huang Sijia stated that around 200 villagers were evacuated to the Second Middle School of the county, with security guards stationed at the school entrance, restricting the movement of the villagers. The school dormitories lacked heating facilities, so the villagers had to warm up in tents set up within the school.

She mentioned that her younger brother wanted to volunteer but was not allowed to leave. Many elderly villagers were worried about their livestock starving, so some tried to sneak back to feed them.

During the evacuation, villagers didn’t take any belongings with them, only escaping with their lives. Well-meaning individuals donated goods to the school, but warm clothing like coats and gloves are still lacking. The donated supplies are stored in the school or sports field, and many items need to be delivered to the village by motorcycle.

She revealed that although there is a shortage of goods, the government is not accepting material donations at the moment, only monetary contributions, which she found puzzling.

Huang Sijia mentioned that the local government has provided temporary housing arrangements, with villagers renting houses independently. The government provides a daily living allowance of 25 RMB, and rent subsidies of 900 RMB per month for families of four or less, and 1400 RMB per month for families of five or more.

She lamented, “The government is only able to provide housing now because so many lives were lost. It’s a pile of human lives that led to this situation.”

For the villagers, the satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the resettlement plans is inconsequential at the moment. Their primary concern is on the rescue efforts, as all the victims are friends and neighbors, weighing heavily on the hearts of all villagers.

She informed the reporter that last year, her classmate saw rocks rolling down from the mountain while tending to the cattle and reported it to the village committee, but no action was taken. The village head is corrupt and didn’t address the issue. She added, “The news reports now blame the landslide on the rain, but only we from the village know the true cause.”

Huang Sijia also disclosed that the disaster was brought about by the local coal mining activities, with the village surrounded by three coal mines that have hollowed out the ground beneath them.

She reflected, “I often saw bodies being pulled out of the coal mines when I was young. Looking back now, the coal mines have truly brought great disasters to our hometown.”

Online information indicates that Yulong County in Yibin City is a major coal-producing county in Sichuan, with the Jinjiu Coal Mine located in Jinping Village of Muai Town. The mine underwent an upgrade in 2022 and had an annual production capacity of 300,000 tons.

Zhang Zhihao emotionally recalled the events of February 8, still unable to find peace, “My hands were bleeding! I was in despair.” He recounted how within moments, his uncle’s house was submerged by the landslide, and despite relentless efforts, the bodies of his uncle’s mother, wife, and eldest nephew remain unfound.

He explained that his cousin managed to escape the disaster with his eldest daughter and son because they had gone to the town to collect a parcel.

Another villager, Li Hao (alias), described how he was visiting relatives on February 8 when he heard a loud noise from an adjacent mountainside. Rushing over, he witnessed a scene that left him petrified. He and other villagers heard children crying and desperately tried to dig them out, but a massive boulder rendered them helpless. Search and rescue teams eventually arrived, and the next day, with the help of machinery, they recovered a child – unfortunately, it was only a body. He also recounted rescuing an elderly person and a child from a house that had not been completely buried yet.

“The mountain was collapsing above, while we were rescuing people below. My face went pale at that moment; it was too tragic,” Li Hao shared.

Huang Sijia also revealed to the reporter that an elderly man named Liang fell ill, and all the family members who visited were buried. Additionally, a chef named Rao, her sister’s classmate who had recently gone to Zhejiang for work, found his family buried due to the disaster, leaving him as the sole survivor.

She further disclosed that a family of four generations, including her sister’s classmate, children, husband, and daughter-in-law, survived because they had gone back home to fetch a charger and were not at the burial site. Their house remained intact while others were submerged.

Huang Sijia sighed, “Everything has dissipated; nothing remains the same now.”