Rescuers have found the body of one of as many as 12 people believed to have been buried by a landslide at a quarry in Jixian County in the northern municipality of Tianjin, local government sources said on Monday.

The landslide occurred at 9:00 AM on Sunday at Xiwubaihu Quarry in Baijian Town.

Rescuers have found some debris believed to be from a work shed at the site. It is thought that there were at least seven people buried inside, according to rescue officials. Rescuers were working to locate the buried and cranes would be used to remove the huge rocks involved in the massive landslide, the officials said.

The trapped were believed to have been buried deep below ground, they said, adding that there might be more than 10 kilograms of explosives trapped under the rubble, which had made the rescue operation even more difficult and dangerous.

Local officials said the accident was the result of a natural landslide. Five other nearby quarries had been closed for safety reasons.

(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2008)