Six people were confirmed dead and seven others were missing after an iron mine tailing dam collapsed on early Sunday morning in northern Liaoning Province.

Another 17 people were injured after the accident happened at around 6 a.m. at Shiqiaozi Village of Anshan City, according to local rescue headquarters.

The dam, about 100 meters long and more than 10 meters high, is built at the hillside. Xinhua reporters saw a crack of more than 10 meters long on the dam and a "ore-mud river" of some 80 meters wide running across the cropland downhill.

A large quantity of mud-flow-like refuse ores and water rushed down into several low-lying villages which are about 2 kilometers away from the dam, destroying houses and croplands, said Yang Jinfang, head of the publicity department of Anshan City.

The death toll is highly possible to increase, an official with the rescue headquarters told Xinhua by telephone.

"The situation is serious as the dam is located at a hillside and hundreds of people live in the nearby villages," said Yang, adding rescuers are searching for the missing.

The dam, which belongs to the Dingyang Mining Co. Ltd., an iron ore producer, is used to contain waste ores, however large quantity of water has stored inside the dam over the past years, said Yang.

The Xiangyang Village, the first victim of the ore-flow, suffers the most serious damages with 33 houses having been damaged.

"It was at around 5:50 in the morning when I was suddenly awaken by the huge sound like floods happening," said a 40-odd villager surnamed Wu.

Wu then got up and went out to see what happened, but he was shocked by the fact that a "flood" was coming.

"I went back to help my family to run to the safe place, I realized the dam might collapse," said Wu.

However, many others were not so lucky as the Wu's family. Wu said he saw with his own eyes how the flood had taken away the villagers and everything else.

According to local rescue headquarters, the ore-mud flow has also affected another two villages nearby and local governments are investigating the casualties.

The Dingyang Mining Co. Ltd is a subsidiary of the privately-run Xiyang Corporation, a magnesium refractory products and fertilizers producer of Liaoning.

(Xinhua News Agency November 25, 2007)