Death toll from China landslide rises to 36, with 15 still missing

The death toll from a landslide that buried a village in southern China has risen to 36, with 15 people still missing days after the disaster struck, state broadcaster CCTV said on Sunday.

The state-run People's Daily said rescue work was ongoing at the site in Shuicheng county, Guizhou province, where a thick torrent of mud buried 22 houses on Tuesday.

CCTV broadcast footage of rescuers trying to reach survivors through a huge mound of earth, and excavators digging through the collapsed hill.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGusrwU_reo[/embed]

Two children and a mother with a baby were among those killed.

been rescued, citing the local emergency rescue command.

It also said that a school had been set up as an emergency medical and rescue centre, and that "multiple rescue teams and experts" were still searching for those missing.

The government had earmarked 30 million yuan (S$5.97 million) to pay for search and rescue efforts and to relocate victims, Xinhua reported.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said earlier he had called for a "careful investigation" into flood and disaster management to reduce further damage.

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The volume of the landslide was estimated to be more than 2 million cubic metres, Xinhua said earlier, adding that more than 50 people were living in the affected area when it struck.

More than 800 rescuers have been scouring the area, where persistent rain and the mountain's steep slopes have hampered search efforts.

Landslides are a frequent danger in rural and mountainous parts of China, particularly after heavy rain, and the country has battled severe flooding this year.

At least 30 people were killed in two separate landslides in the same rural province of Guizhou in August 2017.