Two people were confirmed dead from a Saturday rock slide at a quarry in the Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County of Hainan Province, southernmost China, local work safety authority said on Monday.

At around 6:00 Saturday morning, a cliff of more than 30 meters high collapsed, and rocks of more than 300 cubic meters slid and buried two workers alive. At 6:00 Sunday afternoon, a grab dug out the two, who were already dead, the authority said.

A torrential rain on last Friday accounted for the rock slide at the weathered cliff, the authority added.

Prior to the accident, the quarry was ordered by the local work safety authority to stop operation for an overhaul.

(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2005)