The death toll from a landslide that engulfed a northern Chinese town jumped to 254 on Saturday with the discovery of dozens more bodies, state-run Xinhua news agency said, citing local authorities. State media on Thursday had quoted Minister of Work Safety Wang Jun saying "several hundred" people were thought still buried in the mud that swamped the town of Taoshi after a mining waste reservoir burst its banks on Monday.
Xinhua's latest death toll report said rescuers had now combed through 90 percent of the affected area, but said it could take several more days to search two channels where residents believe more victims could be buried. Search work was continuing, with more than 1,000 rescuers involved, the report said, adding that power and phone lines in the area have been restored.
"This is the toughest phase of the ongoing rescue," Xinhua quoted Lian Zhendong, chief of the rescue headquarters, as saying. "But we will do our utmost to finish the search in three to five days." So far, 128 victims have been identified, the report said. The death toll stood at 178 on Friday. The latest report offered no estimate of a potential final death toll. Xinhua had previously said that 35 people were injured in the disaster.
The torrent of sludge buried a village of 1,000 people, including a market that was packed with people attending a "major fair," the China Daily reported Thursday, citing witnesses. The mud appeared to be more than six metres (20 feet) deep in some places, according to an AFP reporter at the scene earlier this week.
China's national work safety administration said an illegal mine above the town had kept the tailing pond full of ore dregs, which burst its banks after heavy rain. Xinhua said late Saturday that initial estimates indicated the mudslide has caused 9.18 million yuan (1.34 million dollars) in economic losses.