The death toll from a landslide in north China's Shanxi Province has risen to 22 as rescuers found five more bodies on Saturday.

The people had not yet been identified because they had been buried for nearly two months.

A landslide toppled a waste dump from a local iron mine burying Sigou Village in Loufan County in the suburbs of the provincial capital Taiyuan, August 1.

At least 23 people remain missing, said Jing Dekui, deputy head of the county.

"About 6,500 rescuers have been searching for the missing in the past few days," he said.

The exact number of people trapped remains unknown because most were migrants and not registered at the public security bureau.

The government had offered 9.87 million yuan (US$1.44 million) in total compensation to the 45 families of the victims and 4.36 million yuan to other households suffering economic losses as a result of the tragedy.

A team sent by the State Council, China's Cabinet, was investigating the landslide, which had initially been played down by local authorities.

The cause of the accident is still being investigated.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2008)