Chinese leaders urge rescue of landslide-trapped workers

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang on Friday ordered top efforts to rescue workers who were buried in a massive landslide in a mining area in Tibet Autonomous Region.

At least 83 workers were buried in a landslide that occurred around 6 a.m. on Friday in Maizhokunggar County of Lhasa, the regional capital. The buried, including two Tibetans, were workers from a subsidiary of the China National Gold Group Corporation.

Xi, who is paying state visits abroad, and Li, respectively, have told local authorities to spare no efforts to rescue the buried and prevent secondary disasters.

They also urged to lose no time to confirm the number of buried workers and determine the cause of the landslide.

Some 1,000 rescuers, including police, firefighters and medical personnel, are working at the site, which is at an altitude of 4,600 meters.

Local authorities and officials of the State Administration of Work Safety, Ministry of Land and Resources and State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council have also led work teams to guide rescue efforts at the affected mining area.

Liu Yunshan and Zhang Gaoli, who are both the Standing Committee members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau, as well as other senior officials also expressed their concerns for the trapped workers.