Rescuers searching for 12 workers missing in an avalanche at a construction site in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had to stop using large machines in the rescue efforts on Tuesday for fear of causing new snow slides.

Use of large machinery would be faster, but mechanical vibrations caused by such equipment could cause new snowslides and more casualties, said Zhang Yun, deputy secretary of the Kazak Autonomous Prefecture of Ili, who is in charge of rescue operations.

It is unknown when normal rescue operations will resume.

At about 11 a.m. on Thursday, an avalanche occurred about 3 kilometers from a tunnel at a remote mountainous area known as Guozigou in Ili, 500 km from Urumqi, the regional capital.

The avalanche buried 22 workers who were installing a new pipeline designed to send natural gas from Central Asia to the energy-thirsty areas on east China coast via Xinjiang.

More than 200 people have been organized to help carry out the rescue operation. So far, they have saved six workers and found the remains of four more workers.

Guozigou and its adjacent areas, however, have been hit by snowy weather since Sunday, and the bad weather will last until Wednesday, according to the local meteorological service.

Coupled with rising temperature, the snow above the tunnel, where last Thursday's avalanche happened, showed signs of movement and was highly likely to fall down at any moment. The rescue headquarters has tightened monitoring of the snow movement, said Zhang.

Experts say the chance of survival for the missing persons, who have been buried for more than five days, is very slim.

(Xinhua News Agency, March 18, 2008)