Three people were killed and four others are buried after a landslide at an open pit coal mine in north China's Shanxi Province on Wednesday morning, local authorities said.

The accident happened at around 8:30 am at the mine which belongs to Shengkai Coal Mining Co., Ltd. in Jiaokou County of Luliang City, according to the county government's information office.

The company said several excavators and cars have been buried underneath earth. Four drivers were rescued but only one survived. Four others remained buried.

Rescue work continues.