Firemen search for survivors at the site where a landslide occured earlier in the Jiwei Mountain area, in Tiekuang Township, about 170 kilometers southeast of the downtown area, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, June 5, 2009.[Xinhua/Jiang Yong]

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have ordered the local authorities to spare no effort to save those people buried or trapped in a fatal landslide in the southwest city of Chongqing.

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

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

Rescuers said the 79 residents and passers-by buried in debris almost have no chance to survive, but they hope to rescue the 27 miners trapped under the mine.

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

Liu Jianchun, a government spokesman with the rescue work, told Xinhua on Saturday that the landslide destroyed 12 rural houses and buried the mining area.

Photo taken on June 5, 2009 shows the site where a landslide occured earlier in the Jiwei Mountain area, in Tiekuang Township, about 170 kilometers southeast of the downtown area, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. [Xinhua/Jiang Yong]

Rescuers had pulled out seven injured people, including four seriously hurt, from the debris as of 8:30 p.m. Friday, according to the publicity department of Wulong County.

The injured were taken to hospital.

A geological investigation led by Chongqing Land and Resources authorities found that about 1.5 million cubic meters of Jiwei Mountain massif slumped 600 meters down, filling a 200-meter wide valley, where Wujiang, a tributary of the Yangtze River, runs through.

The investigation team warned that the landslide debris, estimated at more than 3.5 million cubic meters, has blocked the river flow, and may have the risk of causing a barrier lake in case of rainy weather.

The Chongqing weather center forecast drizzle weather on Sunday.

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

More than 500 rescuers are searching for the missing.

Investigation into the cause of the landslide has begun.

(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2009)