The death toll from Tuesday's landslide in Hubei Province may be higher than feared as rescuers confirmed 31 deaths and found three motorcycles from the debris yesterday morning.

Rescuers found the body of the 31st victim, a 32-year-old resident of Daganping village, Badong County, surnamed Yang.

Yang was one of the two construction workers reported missing after the accident, rescuers said.

The landslide occurred at about 8:40 am on Tuesday at the entrance of a railway tunnel in Badong County.

About 3,000 cu m of rubble buried a nearby construction site and a bus that was carrying 30 passengers.

One construction worker was killed at the site. Another 29 passengers on the bus from Shanghai to Lichuan city in Hubei were found dead later.

Rescuers are searching for the missing, including Yang's colleague, a 46-year-old Daganping villager, surnamed Li, and the last passenger on the bus.

However, the death toll may be higher than expected as rescuers found three motorcycles at the site.

The State Council has set up a task force to investigate the accident, said Wang Dexue, deputy head of the State Administration on Work Safety.

The task force will include investigators from the State Administration on Work Safety, the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Supervision and the All China Federation of Trade Unions, said Wang, who arrived at the site on Friday afternoon to supervise the rescue operation.

"The accident has caused great losses to local people and we should draw lessons from it to prevent any similar accidents," said Wang.

Rescuers are working round clock to clear the site to ensure that traffic of State Highway 318, which links Shanghai to Tibet, can resume by the end of this month as planned, said Zhang Xinhua, head of the rescue headquarters.

The area saw days of heavy rain before the landslide and the boulders now blocking the road have to be blown up.

DNA samples of the bodies found inside the wrecked bus have been collected to confirm victims' identities.

Most of the victims' families have arrived in Badong County. Zhang said local government authorities have drafted compensation plans for the families of the passengers and construction workers.

"The exact amount of compensation is under negotiation, but the opinions of the victims' families will be given full consideration," said Zhang.

(China Daily November 26, 2007)