Hundreds in Taiwan feared buried

    BEIJING, Aug. 11 -- Up to 600 villagers from Hsiao Lin in the south of China's Taiwan are feared buried in a mudslide triggered by rains from Typhoon Morakot.

    So far, rescue squads aboard helicopters have saved only 45 people from the village which has a population of 1,000.

    Rains washed out roads and bridges in the county, severing all land vehicle traffic to the area.

    Taiwan's army major-general Richard Hu said, "No small number of single-storey houses have been covered in mudslides. We don't know how many people are there, but homes have definitely been buried."

    According to Taiwan's disaster response center, Morakot has killed 15people and injured 52. Those figures don't include potential landslide victims. An unknown number of people are still missing.

    Damage reports are still coming in.

    Rescue efforts will be a challenge as more rain is in the forecast.

    Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Taipei. (XHTV)