Authorities confirmed Saturday afternoon 74 people were missing and eight others injured in a landslide in southwest China's Chongqing.

Ai Yang (C), local government spokesman, attends a press conference in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, June 6, 2009. Authorities confirmed Saturday afternoon 74 people were missing and eight others were injured in the landslide.[Xinhua]

Among the missing were 21 residents, 47 workers at the iron ore mine where the landslide occurred, two telecom company workers and four passers-by, said Ai Yang, a government spokesman, at a press conference.

The accident happened at about 3 p.m. Friday at an iron ore mine in Jiwei Mountain in Tiekuang Township, Wulong County, about 170 kilometers southeast of Chongqing's downtown.

Ai said 27 of the miners were working underground when the landslide occurred.

This confirmation corrected previously reported figures.

Ai said heavy machinery including mechanical diggers and shovel loaders has been brought in to aid the rescue, after the communications authorities helped open the roads.

He also confirmed that rescuers are preparing to use dynamite to remove rubble burying the opening of the mine in bid to rescue the 27 trapped workers.

The debris covered an area of 600 meters long and 300 meters wide in a valley on Jiwei Mountain, after the land occurred at 2:50 p.m. Friday, said witnesses.

A geological investigation led by Chongqing land and resources authorities found that about 1.5 million cubic meters of Jiwei Mountain slumped 600 meters. It filled a valley where the Wujiang, a tributary of the Yangtze River, flows.

The investigation team warned that the debris, estimated at more than 3.5 million cubic meters, has blocked the river flow and may form a barrier lake if it rains.

Liu Yi, chief weatherman with the Chongqing Meteorological Station, said it will rain Sunday morning in the area, turning heavier, about 40-60 millimeters, Monday.

Ai said that rescuers were rushing to remove the barriers under the guidance of geological experts, and hoped to relieve the danger before the rain.

According to the rescue headquarters, the people buried in the debris have almost no chance of survival, but there is hope for the 27 miners trapped in the mine.

Seven people were pulled from the debris Friday evening, and three are in critical conditions in hospital Saturday morning, said Qu Qian, director of the Chongqing Municipal Health Bureau.

Another man was injured after he joined the rescue work. He was also taken to hospital.

Qu said that 27 ambulances and 91 medical workers are at the site.

The landslide cut off power and communications in many parts of the town.

President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have ordered the local authorities to spare no effort to save buried or trapped people.

Caution must be taken to avoid loss of life during the rescue work, the two leaders said.

Vice-premier Zhang Dejiang arrived at the site at 5 a.m. Saturday to oversee rescue efforts.

(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2009)