(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-11-27 07:23

HAICHENG, Liaoning: The death toll has risen to 10 following the collapse on Sunday of a dam at an iron mine in Liaoning Province, after rescuers retrieved four more bodies Monday.

Rescuers search the missing after the collapse of a dam at an iron mine in Shiqiaozi village of Haicheng, Northeast China's Liaoning Province November 26, 2007. Ten, including a child, has been confirmed dead and another three are still missing. [Xinhua]

Zhang Xingdong, vice-mayor of Haicheng and head of the rescue team, said the bodies, including one of a child, were buried deep in silt.

He said about 750 people, including soldiers, armed police, local officials and villagers, were continuing to search for three people still missing after the dam collapsed in the village of Shiqiaozi in the city's Ganquan township.

More than 30 dredgers have also been employed to help clear the silt, he said.

"To ensure the safety of rescuers, we have sent experts to closely monitor four other iron tailings dams nearby to guard against possible further accidents," Zhang said.

The four dams have a registered capacity of about 1 million cu m of waste ore each.

The power supply has yet to be turned back on in Xiangyang, which is one of two low-lying villages hit by a large volume of mud-like debris after the collapse, he said.

The debris smothered homes, suffocating and crushing those inside, he said.

A further 17 people were injured in the accident and are now in hospital. One is in a critical condition, while three others were also seriously hurt.

Doctors have said they are expected to pull through, however.

The local government has set up its rescue headquarters at the primary school in Xiangyang village. It has also provided candles, quilts, clothes and food to villagers made homeless.

Some were housed overnight in a local school, while others stayed with relatives.

Xiangyang, which has a population of about 980, was the worst-hit by the debris, with 33 houses destroyed.

The collapse also affected the village of Caijia, which is home to some 500 people. No casualties have been reported there, but there have been reports of severe damage to houses, vehicles and grain fields.

The 100-m-long by more than 10-m-high dam was situated on a hillside. A crack more than 10 m long appeared in it and a river of waste ore and mud some 80 m wide spilled down across cropland.

With a capacity of 150,000 cu m, the dam, which belongs to the Dingyang Mining Co Ltd, an iron ore producer, was designed to contain waste ore. However, over recent years, a large quantity of water had built up inside it, Zhang said.

The mining company is a subsidiary of the privately run Xiyang Corporation, a magnesium refractory products and fertilizer producer based in Liaoning.

Xinhua