The landslide hit Jinping village in the city of Yibin at around 11:50 a.m. (0350 GMT).

"Ten houses had been buried and more than 30 people were missing," CCTV said.

China's president Xi Jinping had ordered authorities to do "everything possible to search and rescue missing people, minimise casualties, and properly handle the aftermath", it added.

China's Ministry of Emergency Management said in an online post that two people had been rescued.

Emergency response teams were on site searching for survivors, it added.