Chinese state-run media say 20 people are confirmed dead from a landslide in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan.

About 18 homes were buried when a steep cliff top area collapsed, sending a huge mound of debris towards a small village in Zhengxiong county early Monday morning.

The Xinhua news agency says search and rescue crews are digging through a large debris field measuring 100 meters wide and 60 meters high to find any survivors amid freezing temperatures and snow.

At least 24 residents are missing, while hundreds were forced to evacuate their homes.

China has experienced a string of natural disasters in recent months, many of them after extreme weather events such as heavy rain or snow triggering landslides or avalanches.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse.