GUANGZHOU -- Three people were killed and one remains missing after a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall hit a three-story building in a village in South China's Guangdong province early Sunday, local authorities reported Monday morning.

The landslide struck the building around 7 am in Pingtougang village, located in the city of Gaozhou, trapping seven people, according to Gaozhou's emergency management bureau, adding that the landslide occurred about 20 meters behind the building.

Six people were rescued, but three of them died later despite emergency treatment. The other three are receiving hospital care but are not in critical condition.

Search and rescue efforts, involving over 140 policemen, firefighters and doctors, are ongoing for the missing person.