Jiang Jianjun, director of the Geological Environment Department of the Ministry of Land and Resources, said yesterday 33 bodies had been recovered so far.

"In view of time elapsed since the landslide, it is not very likely that the remaining two will survive. But the local government will continue its rescue efforts and will find them."

The accident is the worst geological disaster so far this year.

According to the State Work Safety Administration and Jiang, the landslide occurred without warning around 2 am on Sunday. Rock and mud thundered down the hillside, crushing 16 makeshift sheds where workers building the Kaili-Yuping expressway were sleeping.

Only one managed to escape from under the shed, but was severely injured.

The accident site has been sealed off for further investigation, a Sanhui County government source said.

"On the advice of experts, we have also put nearby areas on alert in case of further landslides," said the official, who declined to be named.

Jiang said the landslide might have been triggered by rainstorms in the area over the past week.

"But the sheds should not have been built there," he said. Other workers have been relocated.

The victims are mostly natives of Guizhou, Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, and Central China's Hubei and Hunan provinces.

Due to the remoteness of the accident site, relatives of the workers have not yet been able to claim the bodies.

The Ministry of Land and Resources is working to minimize the risks of landslide, earth subsidence and other geological disasters.

It issued an emergency circular earlier this month, urging local governments to prepare for the coming flood season which will increase such hazards. The flood season starts in late May in most regions of China.

(China Daily May 13, 2003)