19 Killed in Southwest China Landslide Covering Mine Worker Dormitory

(AP) -- A landslide tore through a mining company's worker dormitory early Sunday morning in southwestern China, killing 19 people, authorities said.

The disaster struck in a mountainous rural district of Sichuan province's Leshan county, where rains have been falling constantly for weeks.

More than 180 people were mobilized to help find those buried under the debris in an operation that wrapped up on Sunday afternoon.

Those killed were all apparently workers with the Jinkaiyuan mining company, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

With its humid, rainy climate, southwestern China is prone to landslides, especially in areas where there has been large-scale shifting of land due to farming, deforestation, engineering projects and mining operations.