Thirteen workers are missing following a sudden ground collapse at a railway construction site in Shenzhen City, south China's Guangdong Province, local authorities said on Thursday.

An all-out rescue operation has been launched and the Ministry of Emergency Management has sent a task force to guide the rescue mission.

The collapse occurred at around 11 p.m. on Wednesday at a construction site for a section of the Shenzhen-Jiangmen Railway in the city's Bao'an District, according to the district's emergency management bureau.

Nearby residents have been evacuated and temporary traffic controls have been put in place around the site. 

An investigation into the incident is underway.