As 142 tourists were quickly evacuated from Sichuan’s mountainous Maoxian County, a group of seven people rushed into the county’s Xinmo village after a massive landslide crashed down on dozens of houses and buried more than 100 people on Saturday, June 24. As of late Sunday, 10 people have been confirmed dead and 93 others remain missing.

The group is led by Chen Jing, whose 26-year-old cousin Wang Qian’ang and Wang’s parents are among those still missing.

The town is about 150 km from the epicenter of the 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. Thanks to their strong wood-frame house, Wang’s family survived the earthquake, which left over 80,000 dead or missing, so Chen hopes another miracle will save his cousin.

The picture shows Wang’s elder sister looking at the rubble.

The group also includes Wang’s two elder sisters and his fiancé. They set out immediately from their home, which is 60 km away, after heard the news. When they arrived in Xinmo, the hope of bringing loved ones back was replaced by a sense of powerlessness. The town, which used to be a scenic place featuring turquoise lakes and red leaves in autumn, has turned into a land of rubble after tons of rock, earth, and water slid down from the nearby Fugui Mountain.

“I know most of the villagers here. They are nice, hard-working, and happy to offer help. My cousin and I grew up together and worked together. I never expected that I might lose him one day,” Chen said.

From day one after the landslide occurred, these seven people traveled back and forth between Xinmo and their homes each and every day. “I desperately hope the excavators can dig as fast as possible. My cousin must still be alive. Last night I dreamt that we would work together again,” Chen said.

More than 3,000 rescuers with detection devices and dogs are looking for signs of life, but the likelihood of finding survivors is fading. At the disaster site, some people began to burn joss paper and light firecrackers to remember the deceased.

The discovery of some woody debris along the river bank ignited Chen’s hope again, but it soon died out after their search ended up with nothing. Chen said they will never give up until his cousin and his parents are rescued.