Officials are unable to confirm the number of people still missing while rescue work is going on.
The landslide occured in the Chongqing region Tuesday night, burying a nine-story residential building. Officials in Chongqing said heavy rain earlier in the week caused the landslide. Only seven people out of some 25 families in the building were known to have escaped the disaster. At least 76 people were believed to be in the building when the accident happened. The official Xinhua news agency said hundreds of police, soldiers and construction workers continued their search after removing two-thirds of the debris from the building.