Tibet landslip buries miners in huts

30 March BBC

Hundreds of rescuers are working to free 83 miners buried by a landslide near the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, Chinese state media have said. State television reported the landslide had engulfed a large area including huts where the miners slept.

More than 1,000 emergency workers have been sent to the disaster site, at an altitude of 4,600m (15,000ft).In a seperate incident, a gas explosion at a coal mine in Jilin has killed at least 28 people.

The Babao mine in the city of Baishan in the north-east of the country is run by the state-owned Tonghua Mining Group. Another 13 miners were rescued after the explosion at 22:40 (14:40 GMT). The mine in Tibet, which produces copper, as well as some silver and gold, is operated by a subsidiary of state-owned China National Gold Group, China's biggest gold producer.State media reports said most of the workers were ethnic Han Chinese, with two reported to be ethnic Tibetans.

Most were said to be migrant workers from Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces.A vast amount of debris and land engulfed the workers' camp in Maizhokunggar county, Xinhua news agency reported.Police said the area that collapsed was up to 4 sq km (1.5 sq miles). Chinese officials believe the Tibetan plateau has huge resources, including millions of tonnes of copper, lead, zinc and iron ore.