Toll from China landslide rises

The torrent of mud buried buildings, vehicles and people

An industrial landslide that swept through a valley in central China on Monday is now known to have killed more than 120 people, rescuers say.

An unknown number remain missing after the torrent of mud, rocks and sludge engulfed houses, offices and a market.

Rescue work is continuing but an official said hopes were fading for any more survivors.

The landslide was caused by the collapse of a reservoir holding debris from an illegal mine.

A dam was being used to contain mining waste, local officials said, and heavy rain caused the overloaded barrier to break.

State probe

The landslide happened early on Monday at the Tashan iron ore mine near Linfen City in Shanxi Province.

One hundred and twenty eight people died when a wall of mud and rocks crashed through buildings in the valley below.

Troops and villagers have been looking for victims of the landslide

Thirty-five people were injured and others remain missing, although exactly how many remains unclear.

Hundreds of people were now helping in the search for survivors, a local official said, adding that they were not optimistic about the prospects of finding anyone alive under the sludge.

"There were survivors on the first day and on the second day, but from day three, it's very likely that anyone we find in the future will be dead already," the local official told the Associated Press news agency.

An AFP reporter at the scene said that the mud appeared to be more than six metres (20 feet) high in places.

Wang Dexue, deputy head of the State Administration of Work Safety, said preliminary findings had shown that the mine was to blame.

"It is an illegal company that was using the abandoned dump to get rid of its production waste," he said.

The State Council is to hold an investigation into the disaster, China's Xinhua news agency said.

The country's mining industry is among the most dangerous in the world.

Despite efforts in Beijing to improve regulations, safety measures are often ignored by local officials in their pursuit of higher profits.