Nineteen people in eight households were trapped after a landslide struck Guowa township in Dafang county, Guizhou province, on Thursday, China Central Television reported.

The Ministry of Emergency Management launched a Level-IV geological disaster emergency response and dispatched a work team to the site to offer on-scene guidance.

Xu Lin, Party secretary of Guizhou, went to the emergency command center to coordinate rescue efforts. The provincial governor Li Bingjun then led relevant provincial departments at the scene to oversee search and rescue and other emergency measures.