KUNMING - Seven bodies have been retrieved by Thursday afternoon from a landslide in southwest China's Yunnan Province that left 12 people missing on Saturday, local authorities said.

A search is continuing at the site for the five people who remain missing, according to the publicity department of Yongshan County.

The landslide occurred at around 5 p.m. on Saturday on Huangping Village, Huanghua Township of Yongshan County.

About 120,000 cubic meters of mud, rocks and debris tumbled into the Jinsha River, which triggered huge waves and caused damage in Kahaluo Township, Leibo County of the neighboring Sichuan Province, according to the department.

Four of the missing people are natives of Yunnan, and the other eight are from Sichuan, the department said.

Geological disasters have been frequently reported around China this summer due to heavy rain.