A major landslide hit a mining area in Tibet autonomous region on Friday morning, burying 83 workers, local authorities said.

The landslide happened at about 6 am in Maizhokunggar county of Lhasa, the regional capital. The victims were workers from Tibet Huatailong Mining Development Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of the China National Gold Group Corporation.

The affected area of the landslide is 3 kilometers long, with about 2 million cubic meters of mud, rock and debris, a Xinhua reporter said from the disaster site. More than 1,000 rescuers, including police, firefighters and medical personnel, are working at the site, which is at an altitude of 4,600 meters.

Villagers living nearby told Xinhua that the landslide struck suddenly, bringing massive rocks down to smash the workers' camp area in early morning. A mass of rolling rock from the mountaintop sliced a big excavator in two parts, a witness told Xinhua.

Two of the buried workers are local Tibetans and others were recruited mainly from neighboring provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan.

Five excavators, five pick-up trucks and an SUV were also buried in the debris, said Zou Yuming, deputy head of the Maizhokunggar county government.

About 200 large vehicles and equipment, 15 sniffer dogs and 15 life-detector machines are being used in the rescue. The rescue will be very difficult due to the size of the affected area, said an official from the regional fire department.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang on Friday ordered top efforts to rescue the buried workers. They have told local authorities to spare no efforts to rescue the buried and prevent secondary disasters.

A work team led by officials from the State Administration of Work Safety, Ministry of Land and Resources and State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission is rushing to the accident site to guide rescue efforts.

【新闻快讯】29日6时左右，位于中国黄金集团华泰龙公司甲玛矿区内的墨竹工卡县扎西岗乡斯布村普朗沟泽日山发生山体自然塌方，塌方长3公里，塌方量约200余万方。据初步统计，83名工人被埋。

灾害发生后，西藏自治区、拉萨市、墨竹工卡县主要领导于第一时间赶赴现场，同时启动应急预案，组织公安、消防、民兵、医务等救援人员1000余名，调集各种车辆和大型装备200余台、搜救犬15条、雷达生命探测仪15台参与现场搜救。

西藏自治区党委书记陈全国等到达海拔4600米的塌方现场，现场指挥救援。陈全国要求不惜一切代价搜救被埋人员，并组织有关部门对周围环境进行评估，严防次生灾害发生。