CRI听力:Over 60 Missing from NW China Landslide

Local authorities say they believe at least 60 people are still missing.

Earlier reports had put the number of missing at around 40.

Rescuers have managed to dig 4 survivors out of the rubble.

All of them are said to be in stable condition.

10 others managed to escape the massive slide themselves.

"Some of my co-workers began grabbing lamps and running run out. I heard rocks falling. It was too dark to see anything. I heard people shouting about the danger, and then run out. The whole mountain just collapsed in one or two minutes. It was too late for some of them who were left back."

The landslide hit shortly after midnight on Wednesday at a mining site in Shanyang county in Shaanxi, which is in the heart of the Qin Mountains near the border with Henan and Hebei.
It has levelled 15 dormitories and three houses on the site.

Around 700 rescuers, including police, firefighters, mining rescuers and paramedics remain at the scene.

However, unstable geological conditions on the surrounding mountain slopes are said to be holding up the search for survivors.

Hua Shuguang, a senior engineer on-site, says they're trying to ensure barrier lakes don't begin forming.

"If there is a collapse on the edge of the landslide debris, it could be a hazard. There is a ditch here, which could turn into a barrier lake if rain flows are suddenly blocked. So we need to clear these two sites to prevent more casualties and additional problems."

The Ministry of Land and Resources has initiated its top-level mining disaster protocols.

China's top leadership, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, are said to be monitoring the situation.

At this point it hasn't been made clear what may have caused the massive landslide.

Shaanxi has been hit by massive rains in recent weeks.

For CRI, I'm Min Rui