What happened when a landslide hit a village in Maoxian, Sichuan and was razed to the ground?

At around 6:00 on June 24, a high-level mountain collapsed suddenly in Xinmo Village, Diexi Town, Maoxian County, blocking the river for 2 kilometers and burying more than 100 people from more than 40 households.

The Maoxian County Party Committee and County Government urgently launched emergency response to Level I extra-large geological disasters and disasters, and have organized forces to rush to the scene for rescue.

The picture shows that the village where the incident occurred has been razed to the ground. Aba Public Security Traffic Police reminded: Except for rescue vehicles, public vehicles are not allowed to enter the scene. All freight vehicles (except rescue vehicles) across the state are prohibited from entering Maoxian County and are detoured through Wenchuan, Lixian, Malkangxidongkou, Hongyuan, and Ruoergai.

The current situation is grim. Chen Tiebo, captain of the Fifth Brigade of the Aba Detachment of Sichuan Province, said that most of the buried houses in Xinmo Village are masonry structures, and most of them were renovated or reinforced after the May 12 earthquake. There were a lot of huge rocks at the collapse site, and the collapse area was about five or six square kilometers. Professional rescue teams were on their way to the scene. Since the excavator has not yet arrived at the scene, on-site rescue is very difficult.

Chen Tiebo said that the specific number of people buried is still being verified, because students are at home during the holidays and the village has a large population, estimated to be between 100-200 people. The village where the incident occurred is a tourist attraction, and tourists are not excluded.