Gansu, China Landslide Buries 33 at Forestry Work Site, Killing at Least 5

A landslide buried 33 people at a forestry work site in China’s mountainous northwestern Gansu Province on July 7, killing at least five and leaving 12 missing, according to Xinhua, China’s state news agency.The slide struck at about 6:56 a.m. in Rencang village, Nanhe township, in Tanchang County, part of Longnan city. The site was identified as being near the Minjiang Forestry General Farm, a state-owned forestry.As of 2:50 p.m. on July 7, 21 of the buried people had been found, five of whom died after rescue efforts, Xinhua reported.The Epoch Times could not independently verify the casualty figures.Chinese authorities had not publicly released the names of the dead or missing, a full list of the people buried, or a cause for the landslide.Local Villagers Among Those BuriedThe work site relied on nearby villagers hired for temporary tree work, according to Chinese reports.A relative of one missing person told state media China Newsweek that the missing man was in his early 50s and had been hired that day to cut or trim trees for 130 yuan, about $18, in daily wages, according to the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times.A Rencang village official told China Newsweek that many of those buried were nearby villagers hired as temporary laborers. Eight were from Rencang village, both men and women, mostly in their 40s and 50s, the official said, according to the report.The official said the slide occurred in a mountain gully with poor communications and that the cause was unclear.Rain Warning, Unclear CauseLongnan’s meteorological office issued an orange rainstorm warning at about 9 p.m. on July 6, saying some areas could receive more than 60 millimeters, or about 2.4 inches, of rain between 10 p.m. and midnight, according to the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times.China’s color-coded rainstorm warning system ranks red as the highest alert, followed by orange, yellow, and blue.A village official told China Newsweek that it had not rained in the village area that day, according to the report. Chinese authorities had not publicly explained by July 7 whether overnight rainfall, slope conditions, forestry work, or local terrain contributed to the collapse.Mountain Work Site RiskThe Tanchang landslide came less than a year after deadly flash floods and mudslides struck Yuzhong County, also in Gansu Province, in August 2025.Chinese authorities later stated that the Yuzhong disaster killed 32 people and left 19 missing, with 15 injured, according to a Gansu government investigation summarized by state media.The latest landslide again drew attention to mountain work sites and remote rescue conditions in Gansu, where steep terrain and poor communications can complicate disaster response.It’s unclear whether the forestry work site had been evaluated for slope risk before the landslide.Xia Song contributed to this report.