Rescuers have found the body of one of as many as 12 people
believed to have been buried by a landslide at a quarry in Jixian
County in the northern municipality of Tianjin, local government
sources said on Monday.
The landslide occurred at 9:00?AM on Sunday at Xiwubaihu
Quarry in Baijian Town.
Rescuers have found some debris believed to be from a work shed
at the site. It is thought that there were at least seven people
buried inside, according to rescue officials. Rescuers were working
to locate the buried and cranes would be used to remove the huge
rocks involved in the massive landslide, the officials said.
The trapped were believed to have been buried deep below ground,
they said, adding that there might be more than 10 kilograms of
explosives trapped under the rubble, which had made the rescue
operation even more difficult and dangerous.
Local officials said the accident was the result of a natural
landslide. Five other nearby quarries had been closed for safety
reasons.
(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2008)
