By Zhang Leifeng, Yang Mingyue and Wu Shitao
With the assistance of excavators, soldiers assigned to the Yibin Detachment under the Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP) Force Sichuan Corps search and rescue the trapped people at the landslide site in Jinping Village on on February 9, 2025. (Photo by Zheng Lei)
YIBIN, China, Feb. 10 -- At around 11:50 a.m. on February 8, a landslide struck Jinping Village of Mu'ai Township, Junlian County, Yibin City in southwest China's Sichuan Province. Since the outbreak of the disaster, the rescue troops from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP) Force and the militias have been fighting in the frontline to conduct search and rescue operations in close collaboration with the local authorities, trying their best to ensure the safety of people's lives and property.
At 4:00 p.m. on February 8, the first 17 soldiers assigned to the Junlian Squadron of the Yibin Detachment under the PAP Force Sichuan Corps arrived at the disaster site to carry out rescue operations. Meanwhile, more than 60 reinforcement troops from the Yibin Detachment rushed to the disaster site with life detectors, flexible speculums, forcible entry tools and other specialized equipment to undertake personnel search and rescue and evacuation.
On the evening of February 8, after reaching Jinping Village, a militia drone unit attached to the PLA Yibin Military Sub-command employed drones to survey the disaster site, capture terrain data and draw the 3D model diagram, providing critical data support for the disaster relief operations.
On February 9, troops from the Yibin Detachment under the PAP Force Sichuan Corps braved heavy rain to continue tasks including personnel search and rescue, resettlement of residents, transporting materials, and setting cordons. As of 6:00 p.m. that day, the PAP Force Sichuan Corps had dispatched 89 rescue troops and searched more than 5,000 square meters of landslide-affected areas. At the same time, a detachment under the PAP Force Second Mobile Corps deployed two vehicles to enhance the surveillance of the landslide parts, assisting the local authorities in early warning of the hazardous areas.
Up to now, the disaster relief operations are still under way.
Soldiers assigned tothe Yibin Detachment under the Chinese People's Armed Police (PAP) Force Sichuan Corps conduct nighttime rescue at the disaster site in Junlian County, on February 8, 2025. (Photo by Qin Qi)
