As the hunt for three missing reporters in China's "Valley of Death" entered its seventh day Thursday, rescuers have failed to find any trace of the missing people in the Changbai Mountains in Jilin Province, northeast China.

Officials said the search for the missing journalists has been expanded to the primeval forests of four counties surrounding Ganfanpen, a valley where a number of visitors have disappeared over the years.

The missing reporters, who were working on an environmental story, said in a piece filed on July 20 that their compass had gone haywire in the valley and that they had encountered poisonous snakes.

A forest police rescue team with 50 skilled search participants arrived at the region on Wednesday to join five other rescue teams consisting of local lumberjacks, officials and police, raising search party numbers from 200 to more than 300, officials said.

Local people said, for decades, few had dared to enter the valley known for its mysterious lush ravines and bizarre landforms that easily misled the unwary.

"It's easy for people to lose their way, as any equipment, like compasses, fails to work there," said Cao Baoming, an art worker, who was rescued by local people in 1986.

(China Daily August 1, 2003)