Landslide kills 5 at railway construction site in Guangxi, China
A landslide struck a railway construction site in Nandan County, Hechi City, Guangxi, China, at about 11:26 LT (03:26 UTC) on August 17, 2026, burying five workers. All five were confirmed dead after search operations ended on August 19.
Representational image. Credit: CCTV
The landslide occurred at a Guizhou–Guangxi Railway second-track construction site in Huangxiangpo hamlet, Lama Village, Mangchang Town on August 17.
Nandan County authorities deployed emergency management personnel, firefighters, police, medical teams, transport officials and other rescue personnel after receiving the report.
Eight construction workers were reportedly at the site when the landslide occurred. Three escaped, while five were buried.
County authorities said one of the five trapped people was initially recovered without signs of life. Six excavators, search dogs and detection equipment were being used at the site at about 21:00 LT (13:00 UTC) on August 17 as the search for the remaining four continued.
The Nandan County Emergency Management Bureau reported that all five trapped people had been recovered without signs of life by 11:17 LT (03:17 UTC) on August 19. Authorities then declared the search operation complete.
Officials said post-incident work was continuing and that the cause of the landslide remained under investigation.
The construction site was part of the Guizhou–Guangxi Railway second-track project, which passes through Nandan County along a route connecting Guiyang, Hechi and Liuzhou.
Earlier, Guangxi meteorological authorities forecast increased rainfall from August 17 to 21 under the influence of a monsoon trough. Moderate rain and localized rainstorms or severe rainstorms were forecast in western and southern Guangxi, with warnings for flash floods, landslides, debris flows and other secondary hazards.
However, authorities had not confirmed that rainfall triggered the Nandan landslide as of August 19. The official investigation into its cause remained underway.
References:
1 All five people trapped in Nandan landslide confirmed dead — Xinhua — August 19, 2026
2 Guangxi rainfall and secondary-hazard forecast — China Weather Network Guangxi Station News — August 15, 2026
3 Search operation completed after five deaths in Nandan County — CNR — August 19, 2026
Rishav Kothari is Editor-in-Chief of The Watchers, where he runs the newsroom and covers earthquakes, volcanoes, severe weather and space weather.
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