BBC News, 29 March 2013
Tibet Landslip Buries Miners in Huts
More than 1,000 rescuers are working to clear rocks and mud from the landslide
Hundreds of rescuers are working to free 83 miners buried by a landslide near the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, Chinese state media have said.
State television reported the landslide had engulfed a large area including huts where the miners slept.
More than 1,000 emergency workers have been sent to the disaster site, at an altitude of 4,600m (15,000ft).
The mine is operated by a subsidiary of state-owned China National Gold Group, China's biggest gold producer.
State media reports said most of the workers were ethnic Han Chinese, with two reported to be ethnic Tibetans.
Most were said to be migrant workers from Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces.
The landslide buried 83 metal miners in Tibet. Photo: Xinhua
About two million cubic metres of mud, rock and debris gave way and rolled down a slope in Lhasa's Maizhokunggar county, covering an area of three to four square kilometres, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
The disaster, triggered by natural forces, happened at 6am, according to Xinhua.
A total of 83 workers were buried, of whom two were Tibetan and the rest Han Chinese, mostly migrants from the southwestern provinces of Yunnan , Guizhou and Sichuan .
Pang Chunlei, a Tibetan police and rescue commander, told CCTV: "We rushed to the scene immediately and found the situation was serious."
Over 1,000 rescuers and 200 large machines, 15 sniffer dogs and 15 life-detection machines were deployed at the site.
However, Pang was not optimistic any survivors would be found. "The workers live in tents and have been buried by the landslide. We are digging but still haven't found anyone yet because the collapsed area is just too huge. It covers the entire mountain gully," Pang said.
The site is at an altitude of 4,600 metres, and oxygen content is less than 50 per cent of what it is at sea level, which could further impede rescue work, CCTV reported.
President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang issued an order for local governments to find out the exact number of missing workers and co-ordinate the rescue work.
A vast amount of debris and land engulfed the workers' camp in Maizhokunggar county, Xinhua news agency reported.
Police said the area that collapsed was up to 4 sq km (1.5 sq miles).
Local hospitals had been put on alert to expect casualties.
Chinese officials believe the Tibetan plateau has huge resources, including millions of tonnes of copper, lead, zinc and iron ore.
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