Rescue workers recovered the bodies of 19 people, including four children and nine Chinese citizens, killed Sunday by a landslide in southern Kazakhstan, an emergency official said.   

At least four people were missing after the landslide, and officials say they could be Chinese as well.

The nine Chinese citizens were believed to be workers from a construction company affiliated with the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

The tragedy struck early Sunday after several days of heavy rain in Talgar district, about 20 kilometers east of the capital of Almaty, said Emergencies Agency spokesman Kairzhan Turezhanov.

The mudslide destroyed one apartment block and seriously damaged another in the mountainous Taldybulak settlement.

Rescuers pulled out five survivors, three of whom were hospitalized in serious condition.

In a letter to local authorities, President Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed condolences to the victims' families.

Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov was at the site overseeing rescue efforts.

Kazakhstan borders China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

(China Daily March 15, 2004)