At least 26 people were killed on Monday in a rain-triggered mud-rock flow that caused the collapse of a warehouse holding waste ore dregs in north China's Shanxi Province, said the provincial work safety supervision bureau.

One person was injured and several others were trapped. The specific figure was not immediately available, according to the bureau.

The accident occurred around 8 a.m. in a warehouse of the Tashan Mine in Xiangfen County, Linfen City, which was soaked by torrential rain.

A rescue team of more than 300 local police and villagers were searching through the rubble.

Governor Meng Xuenong and provincial Party chief Zhang Baoshun rushed to the site to direct the rescue.

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2008)