Excavators used to dig out rescue path on cliff in earthquake-hit Luding of SW China’s Sichuan

An emergency rescue team has used four excavators and two wheel loaders to dig out a path on a cliff in a bid to transfer a large number of stranded people to safety zones following a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan province, as reported on the WeChat account of CCTV News on Sept. 8.

(Photo/CCTV News)

After the earthquake hit Moxi township, Luding county, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, on Sept. 5, the only main road connecting Moxi township and Hailuogou scenic area in the locality had become blocked by landslides.

In an effort to open a channel to rescue trapped people as soon as possible, the rescue team was sent to clear the blocked road sections on the night of Sept. 5. With a mountain on one side and a river valley on the other, the team has worked against the clock to remove landslide debris from the road.

"We're working at a position halfway up the mountain, where there is a vertical drop of about 50 meters to the valley. So we are basically working on a cliff," said Feng Lin, a member of the rescue team.

(Photo/CCTV News)

As of the evening of Sept. 7, the rescue team had cleared more than 2,000 meters of road sections blocked by landslides.

Although many of the sections of the road are still not open due to cave-ins, rescue teams can now get to a path near a river from the cleared road sections to carry out operations when there are no falling rocks.

The rescue team has experienced several aftershocks, and rocks continue to roll down the cliff from time to time, but every member of the team has remained determined to clear the road as soon as possible, according to Feng.

"What I've heard the most from them was that they are confident about completing the task no matter what dangers may lie ahead," Feng said. 

(Photo/CCTV News)

(Photo/CCTV News)