Hopes dim in search for 118 buried by China landslide

Diexi : Rescuers dug through earth and rocks for a second day on Sunday in an increasingly bleak search for some 118 people still missing after their village in southwest China vanished under a huge landslide.

Officials have pulled 15 bodies from the avalanche of rocks that crashed into 62 homes in Xinmo, a once picturesque mountain village nestled by a river in Sichuan province.

Only three survivors -- a couple and their one-month-old baby -- have been found since heavy rain brought down a side of the mountain early Saturday, officials said.

At least 118 people remain missing, according to the local government -- the Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba.

The official Xinhua news agency cited geological experts at the site as saying the chance of finding any survivors "was really slim".

Qiao Dashi, the surviving baby's father, said he had woken up after 5:00 am to change his crying son's diaper when he "heard a big noise coming from the back".

"The house shook," he told state broadcaster CCTV from his hospital bed. "Rocks were in the living room. My wife and I climbed over, took the baby, and got out."

"I have superficial injuries. Overall, I'm okay. But psychologically, it's hard. The entire village, with dozens of families, was flattened," he said, with a bandage around his head.

At least half a dozen red excavators removed debris at the base of the slope on Sunday as the search continued.

Rescuers with lights on their helmets and sniffer dogs had searched for people through the night as lamps illuminated the grey rubble, according to images on state media.

Some 3,000 workers with life-detection instruments were taking part in the search, Xinhua said.

The landslide blocked a two-kilometre (one-mile) stretch of river and 1.6 kilometre of road.