Rescuers have recovered at least five bodies after a massive landslide buried a village in southwest China on Saturday, an official said, as state media said over 120 people remained missing.

Wu Xiaobin, captain of the local fire department, confirmed the first deaths to state broadcaster CCTV hours after the avalanche of rock hit the village of Xinmo in Sichuan province.

State media, meanwhile, revised the number of people missing down from 141 to more than 120.

Source: AFP