83 buried in landslide in Tibetan mining area
21:47, 29 March 2013
LHASA. March 29. KAZINFORM A major landslide hit a mining area in Tibet Autonomous Region on Friday morning, burying 83 workers, local authorities said.
The landslide happened at about 6 a.m. in Maizhokunggar County of Lhasa, the regional capital. The victims, including two Tibetans, were workers from a subsidiary of the China National Gold Group Corporation, according to Xinhua.
The affected area of the landslide is 3 kilometers long, with about 2 million cubic meters of mud, rock and debris, according to the publicity department of the regional government.
More than 1,000 rescuers, including police, firefighters and medical personnel, are working at the site, which is at an altitude of 4,600 meters.
About 200 large vehicles and equipment, 15 sniffer dogs and 15 life-detector machines are being used in the rescue.