A senior official in north China on Thursday moved to quash Internet claims that "hundreds" of people are missing after a mud-rock flow that has officially left 128 dead so far.
Shanxi Provincial Government secretary-general Wang Qingxian said the number of people missing in the disaster was yet to be confirmed, and dismissed the Internet claims as "mere speculation".
"The specific figure of the people missing in the disaster has not been established yet," said Wang at a news conference. "We are still evaluating the situation."
Wang also promised timely updates of the casualty numbers with "openness and transparency".
He said rescuers had sped up their work with "all-out efforts". "The search, if the weather conditions allow, is expected to finish in three to five days."
The disaster happened when the bank of a pond holding waste ore dregs of an unlicensed mine burst, leaving 128 dead and 35 injured as of Wednesday.
Some reports said hundreds of people were feared to have been buried underneath the mud, but the local government has released no figures concerning the number of missing people.
Wang said the mine was purchased and transferred to a man named Zhang Peiliang when the local government auctioned it off in 2005.
But Zhang did not apply for new licenses after its safety production license was suspended in 2006 and the mining license expired in 2007.
After the pond breached on Sept. 8, an area of 30.2 hectares was covered by the mud. The mud-rock flow damaged buildings, trade markets and some residences lying downstream.
(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2008)