MOSCOW, November 17 (RIA Novosti) - Rescue workers have retrieved a total of 23 bodies buried under debris following a massive landslide in northern China, the Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.

According to Xinhua, the landslide, covering an area of about 20,000 square meters, swept over five homes in a rural area of the Shanxi Province on Monday morning.

"Rescuers retrieved 12 bodies Monday, and they had found another 11 bodies by early Tuesday morning," Xinhua said, adding that the victims were migrant workers at a nearby coal mine and their families.

Only two people have reportedly survived the tragedy.

Xinhua said local authorities launched an investigation into the accident.