At least two persons have died and 12 others remain missing after a heavy rain-triggered mudslide that hit Tianquan County, southwest China's Sichuan Province on Saturday, local authorities said on Sunday.

Local earthquake disaster headquarters activated the Level II emergency response, the second-highest in the four-tier emergency response system, at 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Sichuan provincial emergency management department has dispatched over 260 people from various cities to Tianquan to carry out search and rescue efforts.