A landslide killed six villagers and injured five others early Tuesday morning in Yibin City of Sichuan Province, and seven villagers are still missing, according to the provincial disaster relief bureau.

Of the five injured who are hospitalized, three are in a serious condition.

Continuous rainstorm is blamed for the tragedy, which occurred at around 3 a.m. when most of the villagers in Lianglong Town were asleep. The local government immediately organized rescuers to search for the missing and helped the villagers to move to safe places.

The provincial government has dispatched a group of officials from the departments of civil affairs, water conservancy and land and resources to help the rescue work.

(Xinhua News Agency June 30, 2004)