Rescue crews fail to find survivors of landslide

CHIMA, Bolivia -- Crews searching for survivors from a landslide that buried this Bolivian mining town said Friday they may declare the site a mass grave after another day of rescue efforts found nothing.

Crews, which have recovered 17 bodies, have given up hope of finding anyone alive from Monday's avalanche. Villagers have reported dozens of people still missing, but officials had no firm number of victims still buried.

President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada visited the area and said that emphasis should be placed on rebuilding the town and delivering vaccines to prevent an outbreak of disease instead of digging for more bodies.

Rescue crews said they would continue searching for at least another day.

"There were no new bodies found today, and rescue workers acknowledge it's impossible to find survivors," Vladimir Rojas, spokesman for Bolivia's Civil Defense Corps said Friday. "The problem health workers face now is fighting a possible outbreak of cholera and yellow fever."

The landslide left more than 100 people homeless and cut off the village's water supply.

The U.S. Embassy and international aid agencies sent water and other supplies to the isolated town deep in Bolivia's jungle.

Chima is a poor town where gold miners have burrowed into the mountain with explosions of dynamite for the past 70 years in search of a meager living.

A landslide two years ago killed eight in Chima. Authorities say that mining tunnels have weakened the mountain and put it at risk of collapse.