Nine people are missing after a landslide hit a highway construction site in central China's Hubei province, local authorities said on Sunday.

The landslide of more than 500,000 cubic metre struck the construction site at Yueshan Village in Tujia Autonomous County of Wufeng on Saturday afternoon.

So far five people have been rescued, while nine others are still missing, according to the county authorities latest statement.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has activated a level-four emergency response to geological disasters and sent a working group to the site to guide emergency handling, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

It called for making every effort to treat the injured and reduce casualties, preventing secondary disasters, and ensuring the safety of rescuers.

Efforts should also be made to identify the causes, strengthen risk monitoring and investigation, and ensure the safety and protection of people's lives and property, the ministry said.

The ministry has dispatched 139 people and 32 vehicles of the national comprehensive fire rescue force, as well as the national safety production emergency rescue team, with professional equipment to the site to carry out rescue operations, the report said.

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