The bodies of 14 bus passengers were recovered in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Tuesday. The 14 had been traveling in a bus that was hit by a mountain torrent on Saturday.

The victims have been buried according to local ethnic rites.

Torrents of mud and water caused by heavy spring downpours washed a bus into a river in Luopu County on Saturday. Nineteen of the 33 passengers had got off the bus and were helping to push the vehicle that had become stuck in the mud.

The 19 survived, but the 14 passengers who stayed on the bus were hurled into the river along with the bus.

In another mishap, the bodies of seven of the 24 farmers buried in the May 9 cave-in were?recovered?on Tuesday in Jixian County, north China's Shanxi Province.

The bodies have been identified and rescuers are continuing their search for the other 17 farmers.

Twelve?men and 12 women were buried after 650,000 cubic meters of loess collapsed, inundating their houses.?Sixteen others narrowly escaped the cave-in.

Experts said the cave-in was a typical natural geological occurrence.

Rescue workers have been searching for survivors for half a month now, using excavators on three sides of the loess hillock. However, closer to the site of the collapse, rescuers have had to ditch the excavators and dig with their bare hands. Further, there is a risk of another cave-in.

On Monday, continuous rainstorms caused a landslide in Ziyuan County, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which killed two primary school pupils and injured one.

Five pupils in Shiqutou Village of the Yandong Township were on their way home after school at about 4:30 PM when the landslide occurred. Three of them were caught under the torrent of mud and rock. One died at the scene, and the other two were rushed to the county hospital. One died along the way and the other was out of the critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon. They were all aged about six.

Also in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, flood warnings were issued on Tuesday after the Lijiang River in Guilin City water levels reached flood limits.

Days of continuous torrential rain are responsible for the high water levels, said sources with the local hydrologic station.

The upper reaches of the Lijiang River recorded daily rainfall of about 50 mm, and water levels monitored by the Guilin Hydrologic Station reached 144.5 meters on Tuesday morning.

In southwest China's Sichuan Province, a forest fire in the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture has destroyed about 800 hectares of land.
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The fire broke out on May 17 in an area of virgin forest in Muli County. It spread quickly due to dry weather and strong winds. About 2,700 policemen and local residents helped to fight the blaze.
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The fire was put out on May 23. No casualties have been reported.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.
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(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily, May 25, 2005)