Dramatic moments of fatal Gansu landslide

Survivors' stories

Twenty-one people were killed in the landslide, local authorities confirmed at a news conference on Wednesday, adding search and rescue operations have concluded.

The landslide occurred at about 6:56 am on Tuesday, trapping 33 people. Of the survivors, five escaped uninjured and seven sustained minor injuries, according to local authorities.

Tanchang county is located deep in the hinterland of Longnan, where steep mountains, deep valleys and rugged terrain characterize the area. The mountains are mainly composed of loess deposits and jagged rock formations.

Villagers who were swallowed up in the disaster recounted the terrifying moments when it struck.

Sun Penghua, 48, suffered a fractured sternum after the landslide struck Rencang village. Her husband, Yang Ping, 53, escaped with only minor injuries. The couple were running for their lives when the mountainside began to give way.

"My husband was in front of me," Sun recalled. "We started sliding down the slope as we ran. The ground was shaking, and everything was moving beneath our feet. I couldn't even tell where I was anymore."

As they struggled to escape, the collapsing hillside caught up with them. The rushing earth shoved Sun toward the roadside, partially burying her legs before a larger wave of mud and debris slammed into her.

"The landslide pushed me onto the road," she said. "Then the soil came over me and buried me."

An injured resident surnamed Wang said: "I was lucky. If I'd run even a little later, the second landslide would have buried me completely."

Another resident called Feng said he was the first to the initial landslide.

"The first landslide was relatively small, covering an area of about eight to 10 meters," said the man aged in his 40s.

"I started clearing the road while keeping an eye on the slope above. Then I realized something wasn't right, so I pulled out by myself. Just after I had cleared the road, the massive landslide came down. I was still running when I had just reached the side. A rock came down and struck my foot, and I fell."