Between 30 and 40 people were buried by a landslide in southwest China on Wednesday, local officials said, as heavy rains in the area also destroyed homes and bridges.

Between 30 and 40 people were buried by a landslide in southwest China on Wednesday, local officials said, as heavy rains in the area also destroyed homes and bridges.

The landslide in Zhongxing, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, was triggered by rain, the fire brigade of the provincial capital Chengdu said on its verified microblog account.

A Zhongxing official told AFP by phone that "so far we only know 11 families were buried and more than 200 residents have been evacuated". He added that workers were still searching for others.

Much of China has been hit by heavy rainfall in recent days, including most of Sichuan, where three bridges have collapsed since Monday.

More than 2,700 rescuers were deployed to search for 12 people missing after a bridge in Jiangyou fell down on Tuesday, local officials said.
Accounts varied over the number of vehicles that disappeared in that incident.