The number of confirmed deaths from Friday's landslide in Guizhou Province rose to 35 on Monday evening. Nine villagers are still missing.

The disaster struck Zuojiaying Village at 3:00 AM Friday. The village is located in Nayong County, in southwestern China, just over 100 kilometers west of the provincial capital of Guiyang.

There was slim hope anyone else would be brought out alive from the rubble, where the houses have been buried in soil and rocks for four days, said Guo Qiang, an official with the local geological authority.

Boulders weighing as much as 100 tons crashed down the mountainside, destroying all 19 houses in the village.

Recovery work is continuing but it is becoming more difficult to clear the site with the increasing accumulation of rocks and soil.

Thirteen people who were injured are now in stable condition. The local government is covering their medical expenses.

Guo stated that plans have been drafted to rebuild the victims' homes, while experts from the local department of land and resources and village representatives are already looking for a new site.

However, Nayong County chief Guan Xiaonong said that more the victims might have to spend the next three months -- the harshest season of the year -- living in tents before site receives final approval for construction.

More than 100 people were evacuated from the nearby area and about 200 tents have been set up. Emergency supplies, including clothing, rice, cash and medicine have also been distributed.

Every affected family is entitled to 60 kilograms of rice and other supplies.

The provincial civil affairs authority has also allocated 1 million yuan (US$120,000) in emergency funds, said Guo.

Organizations around the country have made relief donations, but only 2 million yuan (US$241,800) has been collected so far. Zhou Peng, the deputy magistrate of the county, said that an estimated 8 million yuan (US$967,000) will be needed to rebuild the village.

Many of the local villagers have indicated that they believe the landslide was caused by coal mines in the area, particularly two located at the foot of the mountain. Experts at the site said that it was more likely a natural geological event resulting from the mountain's brittle limestone structure.

However, mining companies have been targeted for damaging the environment in a nationwide campaign that began in early May.

Officials from the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) and the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) vowed on Monday to crack down even more severely on mines that violate environmental policies and regulations.

More than 52,400 mining companies have been inspected, particularly in regions where the number of public complaints has been growing, according to Xiong Yuehui, of the environment supervision and inspection bureau at SAWS.

So far, some 16,400 mines have been ordered to suspend or permanently shut down production.

Inspectors have found that local governments and mining companies in some regions simply ignore environmental protection. Xiong said many companies are not even aware that there are regulations and policies they are required to follow.

There is no uniform supervision and management system over the mining areas and neither governments nor companies are held responsible for protecting and restoring the local ecosystem, he said.

A survey of 96,000 companies in 24 provinces shows that only 34 percent have undergone environmental impact assessments.

The inspection and enforcement system is also weak, according to Xiong, with manpower, funds, supervision and management in remote mining areas far from sufficient.

Laws, regulations and enforcement systems will all be improved, said Xiong. The watchdog authorities plan to suggest that the State Council enact a code specifically concerning the protection of mining area environments.

The authorities intend to submit a report on the campaign in the near future. They said it will be made clear that local governments have first-line responsibility for managing the environment.

They also intend to implement a multisource investing system so that national, local and non-governmental funds are used.

(China Daily December 7, 2004)