Between 38 and 41 people were missing as of press time on Thursday in the aftermath of rain-triggered mudslides in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

From Wednesday night to early Thursday morning, downpours lashed Ningnan county in the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture of Sichuan. The heavy rains caused mudslides around 6:15 am in the Aizigou Valley, where construction workers from Three Gorges Co were staying as they worked on Baihetan Hydropower Station.

"Eight workers were rescued from the site, and 38 to 41 were missing," said Zhou Junjia, chief of the information office of Ningnan county government.