BEIJING - The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) has initiated an emergency response to rescue 83 workers buried in a massive landslide in a gold mining area in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

A work team composed of officials from the MCA, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Land and Resources has been sent to the accident site to guide rescue efforts, according to a statement released by the MCA.

The landslide occurred around 6 a.m. on Friday in Maizhokunggar County of Lhasa, the regional capital. The buried, including two Tibetans, were workers from a subsidiary of the China National Gold Group Corporation.