Rescuers search for missing in China landslide

The death toll of flooding caused by a landslide in western China has risen to 23 on Saturday while eight other people are still missing, state broadcaster CCTV said.

A sudden rainstorm in western China's Qinghai province triggered a landslide that diverted a river and caused flash flooding that hit six villages in Datong County, forcing some 1,500 people out of their homes, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

More than 600 firefighters and 100 fire engines joined in the rescue work, and an investigation of the cause of the landslide is underway, according to CCTV.

China is facing both heavy rains and flooding in some parts of the country this summer and extreme heat and drought in other regions.

State media have described the prolonged heat and drought as the worst since record keeping started 60 years ago.