At least 35 people have been killed and 20 are missing in southern India when three houses were swept away in a landslide after torrential rain, police have said.
The landslide occurred last night when people had gathered for a Christian betrothal ceremony in Amboori village, 20 miles from Trivandrum, capital of the coastal state of Kerala, they said.
Police and rescue workers searching for victims were hampered by heavy rain through the night but the search was stepped up after the skies cleared in the morning and four survivors were found.
The power supply to the region had been cut off and roads were also damaged, police said.
"Most of those killed belonged to the family of Mr C.D. Thomas whose son was getting engaged," an inspector told Reuters by phone from a police post near Amboori.
"Thomas has miraculously survived but the groom was killed along with the others in his house," the inspector said.
He said Amboori is in a hilly region on Kerala's western ghats and a hillock in the village seemed to have collapsed during the landslide.
"A temporary medical centre is being set up at the site to conduct autopsies," he said.
