At least 16 people have died in a landslide in the south of Ecuador caused by months of heavy rainfall, the government said on Monday.

The mudslide happened late Sunday night, burying dozens of homes and also injuring 16 people, the Risk Management Secretariat said in a statement.

Police and firefighters dig through the rubble to search for survivors after a landslide hit the town of Alausi, in the province of Chimborazo, southern Ecuador.