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.

People look at the flood near the landslide-hit Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec town in Oaxaca state, Mexico, Sept. 28, 2010. Some 300 homes were buried by landslide early Tuesday in Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec town and some 1,000 people were feared dead, local newspaper reported. [Max Nunez/Xinhua]

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.