The President’s Office has extended sympathies to the Chinese government over the landslide in the country’s southwestern region.

The landslide occurred in Xinmoa village, at Maoxin country of the Sichuan province, and over 140 people may be buried in debris, Chinese authorities reported.

"I was deeply shocked and saddened to hear the news of the landslide in Sichuan Province, causing the loss of lives and extensive damages to property and infrastructure" President Abdulla Yameen’s letter to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, said.

The Chinese government has dubbed the rain induced landslide a ‘first-class catastrophic geological disaster’, while it destroyed up to 46 homes in Xinmo.