Sixteen workers died and two remained buried in a landslide that engulfed a factory in Luliang, north China's Shanxi Province on Friday, the local government said.

The landslide occurred at 10:20 a.m. on a mountain in Shang'an village, Lishi District. It destroyed a nearby brick factory and buried 19 workers. One worker was rescued, but another two were still trapped.

The rescue effort was suspended at 9 p.m. because of signs of another impending landslide.

All rescuers and rescue equipment had been evacuated from the scene. More than 300 people and 20 earthmoving machines were used in the search, a Xinhua reporter at the scene said.

The rescue headquarters, headed by Luliang City's Communist Party chief Nie Chunyu, was working on a further rescue plan.

(Xinhua News Agency June 14, 2008)