The death toll of a landslide in northwest China's Shaanxi has risen to 17 Thursday and the chances of survival for 11 others missing were slim, said rescuers.

"Houses have been completely buried under loess from a hillside. Rescuers had difficulty finding supporting structures in the debris, where victims could have room for survival," said Guo Peicai, county chief of Zizhou, where the landslide occurred at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.

About 90,000 cubic meters of earth slid down the hillside in Shuanghuyu Village, crushing 25 houses and burying 44 people.

Ten people with slight injuries were taken to hospital, while six others escaped uninjured, Guo said.

Tang Shougui was among relatives of the missing waiting at the rescue site, where 400 rescuers, including police, firemen and coal mine rescue professionals are still searching.

"My wife and son are still buried there. I know the government is doing their utmost in the rescue work," he said.

Tang, who was working in neighboring Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, was called home by his neighbors at noon Wednesday. He was told rescuers had arrived half an hour after the accident happened at midnight.

Zhang Pingping, a 10-year-old girl, survived the landslide. She said she hid in a wall corner with her grandfather and sister, after she was awakened by the noise. She cried for help when she heard the sound of her neighbors.

"I felt I could see nothing and feel nothing, when I was helped out. My only thought was that I didn't bring out my schoolbag," she said.

Mei Jingwen is in hospital. She suffered a fracture to her left arm. She was injured when the top floor of her three-story house crashed to the ground. She broke a window glass and jumped out with her son.

"Three of the ten injured admitted to the hospital have been discharged," said Wang Xiongwei, dean in the orthopedics department in the Zizhou County Hospital, Thursday.

Wang Haiyang, deputy county chief, said the landslide victims were not locals in Shuanghuyu Village. They bought the houses there, because the village was only 1 km from the county seat.

"Land resources experts have concluded the landslide was a geological disaster, as loess hard frozen throughout winter is likely to loosen in spring," Wang said.

Staff from the county's civil affairs bureau was issuing compensation payments, grants and living necessities to victims and their families on Thursday.

(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2010)