Search went on Sunday for the missing people in the Yellow River after a bus fell into the icy water late Saturday in northern China, even though there is almost no chance of survival, rescuers said.

The bus with 35 passengers and one driver aboard suddenly fell into the Yellow River while driving on the frozen surface at the section of the Hanggin Banner (prefecture) in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at about 4:00 PM Saturday, said Bao Shengrong, secretary of the Hanggin Banner Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Only eight persons were saved and the other 28 were still missing, Bao said, adding that the eight survivals are receiving treatment in a nearby hospital.

Initial investigation shows that the cave-in of the "icy road" caused the bus to sink into the freezing river, and the bus has actually 29 seats, according to local authorities.

"There is a large crack on the icy surface and rescuers couldn't go near at night," Bao said.

By 9 AM Sunday, the local government had mobilized a group of armed police officers, 20 firemen, six divers and 20 emergency vehicles to the scene for salvage.

"But there is basically no chance of survival for the missing people," a rescuer at the scene who didn't want to be named, told Xinhua, citing the chilly weather, frozen river surface and deep water six meters in depth at the cave-in site.

The firemen have started breaking the ice for further rescue operations.

(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2005)