Chinese police were searching for a man who allegedly organized illegal mining activities at an abandoned iron mine in the eastern Anhui Province where 12 farmers were buried and feared dead following a cave-in.

Jin Qianlong, of Machang Village, Fanchang County, fled after a collapse at noon Wednesday at the Fanchang mine owned by Taochong Mining Co., a division of Ma'anshan Steel Group, said Ren Jiahai, Fanchang Public Security Bureau deputy head.

Local police detained Jin's accomplice, Yu Xuekun, also from the Machang Village, Ren said.

Four days after the collapse on Saturday, rescuers had failed to find any survivors of those buried, including four women.

Fresh cave-ins and landslides occurred amid heavy rain, hampering rescue efforts, Ren added.

The cave-in zone had been abandoned by the mining company but local farmers often conducted illegal mining activities at the site.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2008)