A landslide in southern China killed two people and buried dozens of others underneath rubble on Monday, with rescue operations hampered by snowy sub-zero weather.

At least 47 people from 18 households were missing after the disaster in Yunnan province, state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

Two of the missing people had been found dead by early Monday afternoon. More than 500 people have been evacuated from their homes.

The landslide hit two villages in the southwestern city of Zhaotong at about 5:51am local time (21:51 GMT), covering houses in brown mountain soil at the foot of a hill, CCTV reported. It was not clear what caused the incident.

“The mountain just collapsed, dozens were buried,” a man identified only as Gu, who witnessed the landslide, told the state-owned TV station for the neighbouring province of Guizhou. Gu said four of his relatives were buried under the rubble.

“They were all sleeping in their homes,” he said.

Firefighters were climbing through the rubble searching for survivors in light snow, CCTV reported.

Officials dispatched nearly 1,000 rescue workers to the scene, along with nearly 200 rescue vehicles.

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing was leading a delegation to the site to guide rescue works.

Yunnan is among several provinces in the country’s southern region currently experiencing bitterly cold temperatures, according to the National Meteorological Centre.