MEXICO CITY, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people were killed and 100 others went missing on Tuesday in Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, a small town in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca, due to landslide, local authorities said.

According to Luis Marin, the head of the state's civil protection department, there were also more than 300 houses buried in the landslide. He said that the actual death toll from the disaster could be much higher, as rescue efforts were still going on.

The Mexican military and hundreds of rescuers from local and central governments were trying to reach the town and join the rescue efforts, but heavy rains hampered their movements.