Soil cliff collapse kills four in Northwest China

XI'AN -- Four people were killed Thursday morning after a soil cliff collapsed, destroying three houses in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, local authorities said.

The incident occurred at about 5:30 am Thursday in Shadaozi village of Zhidan county in Yan'an, a city in northern Shaanxi, with three homes collapsed by the soil and four people buried, the county government said.

The victims were rescued by emergency services and sent to the county hospital, but they died of their injuries.

An investigation into the cause of the collapse is underway.