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Rescue work in Liangshui Village
Photo: Zhou Lei / Xinhua / IMAGO
A landslide has occurred in southwest China's Yunnan province, leaving more than 40 people buried.
According to Chinese state media, the authorities initially assumed that 47 people were missing.
Two people have now been rescued dead from the rubble, Chinese state television reported.
The earth masses hit the village of Liangshui in the north of the province early in the morning.
According to the state news agency Xinhua, authorities brought several hundred people from the area to safety.
It is still unclear how many people died in the accident.
Houses on a steep slope
State television showed images of a path that the avalanche had torn into the mountainside.
Footage showed rescue workers searching for people in the rubble.
One of the reporters said by telephone that the accident occurred while it was still dark.
The buried houses were all built on a steep slope.
According to reports, civil protection and the fire department arrived with dozens of vehicles and hundreds of helpers.
According to the People's Daily, soldiers were also sent to the area in Zhenxiong County, which borders Sichuan and Guizhou provinces in northeastern Yunnan.
How the landslide occurred is still unclear.
Xinhua reported that the local government has launched further relief measures.
China's state and party leader Xi Jinping called on Beijing to quickly organize rescue workers and do all they can to help the missing.
He also called for early warning to be strengthened in order to prevent further disasters.
bbr/dpa/Reuters