As of 9:00 PM Saturday, rescuers found the bodies of three villagers who were trapped in a landslide in the county of Huaxian, northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Yet the whereabouts of nine others, who were also trapped, are still unknown.

The local government source said the landslide happened at 9:30 AM Friday at the Gaolou Village of the county, leaving 13 people buried. Nearly 100 houses have also been toppled down.

More than 600 people were organized to rescue the missing people. A child was rescued at 8 AM Saturday, said Li Tangtang, vice governor of Shaanxi who is organizing the rescue operation.

More than 55,000 cubic meters of mud and rocks need to be cleared, but excavators can not be used as a result of limited workable space at the site, posing great difficulties for the rescue operation.

Villagers living in the nearby places have all been evacuated and all the homeless were relocated and provided with rations, said the official, adding that the rescue operation is still going on.

(Xinhua News Agency October 8, 2006)