(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-27 15:07

XI'AN -- Four women students were killed and 12 others injured when part of an earthen cliff suddenly collapsed, burying a school lodging house nearby in Shaanxi Province, northwest China, on Saturday.

The mound collapse around 12:30 also buried the canteen and toilet of the Health School of Fufeng County, according to  Shaanxi provincial government on Sunday.

The school houses had been rented by another school known as "Qiushi", where about 240 students were said to have taken  classes to prepare for the forthcoming national college entrance exams in early June.

Altogether 16 girl students were buried under the flattened house. Four of them were confirmed dead and other injured students are hospitalized.

The provincial educational authority has ordered safety check-up in all local schools to uproot similar accidents.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.