The accident happened as workers were repairing a remote mountain road Sunday in Wangmo county, Guizhou province, the Guizhou Metropolitan newspaper reported.

A mountain slope along the road collapsed onto the workers, burying many of them alive before they could escape.

Nearby villagers rushed to the scene and in the course of about an hour dug out the bodies of nine workers and one elementary school student.

Twenty others were injured in the accident, mostly by rocks flying off the slope, the report said.

TERRA.WIRE