An on-going mountain landslide threatens a middle-school in the northwestern Shaanxi Province, forcing more than 1,000 students to stay away from campus, said the local authorities.

Cracks were first found in the Baotaliang Mountain in Zhenping County, Ankang City, early this month. Recently some parts of the mountain began collapsing and the crumbling rocks, amounting to 1,000 cubic meters, have buried the road at the foot of the mountain.

"From 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, about 10 landslides occurred within a small scale," said experts from the city's land and resource bureau.

The Zhenping Middle-school had just started a new semester but it dismissed all the students home after they were registered. The class would be postponed for a week.

All the occupants in an apartment building near the mountain have been evacuated. The county's bus station was also ordered to suspend operation with all buses kept outside the parking lot.

Experts and officials were working at a plan to prevent dangers.

(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2008)