Rescue workers have found 20 bodies in the rubble so far, state news agency Xinhua reported citing the authorities.

The search for survivors continues.

Authorities said 24 people were still missing, down from 47 a day earlier.

Some 18 houses in the village of Liangshui, which is located in the north-east of Yunnan province and has a population of a few thousand, were buried on Monday.

The Chinese government sent hundreds of rescue workers and soldiers to the scene of the disaster.

Around 200 residents were evacuated from the area.

Photos showed a long swathe that the mudslide had torn into the slope.

The 18 affected houses stood at the foot of the slope and were buried by the landslide.

Initial findings indicated that a break in a cliff could have triggered the landslide.

Xinhua cited a group of experts who determined that the break-off at the top of the hill may have set the masses of earth further downhill in motion. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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(Edited by Emmanuel Yashim)