The tragedy occurred early on Monday when torrential rains caused a dam to collapse, allowing sludge and waste from the Tashan iron mine to sweep down a hillside, burying buildings and homes in northern China's Shanxi Province.
A total of 268,000 cubic meters of rocks and mud engulfed an area of over 30 hectares. The landslide destroyed a market, a three-storey office building, and several homes within minutes, according to eyewitnesses.
Authorities said that "several hundred" people could still be trapped under the rubble as 2,200 rescuers, with the aid of more than 110 excavators, continue their frantic search to try and reach possible survivors.
At least 100 people were injured in the disaster, Xinhua said. The landslide is believed to have caused 100 million yuan ($14.6 million) in damage, according to China's State Council regulation.
A top provincial official, Wang Qingxian, dismissed reports Thursday that there were "hundreds" of people trapped under the mud and rock, saying that rescuers had already combed about 60% of the area.
Initial reports quoted rescuers as saying that "the unlicensed Tashan mine was operating illegally and the stored waste iron ore dregs had surpassed the capacity of the holding pond."
