The authorities in China have confirmed a further 30 fatalities resulting from the deadly landslide near the south-western city of Chongqing.

These victims were identified via DNA testing, rescue workers in Pengshui County said on Tuesday. The landslide buried residential buildings in the district on July 17.

This brings the death toll to 41, after the authorities confirmed 11 dead and 50 missing last Thursday.

The rescue services did not disclose how many people are still missing. Most recently, they had come across a buried minibus in the rubble and discovered human remains both inside and around the wreckage.

At least ten residential buildings were buried by the debris flow and massive boulders. According to media reports, residents had noticed rockfalls on the day of the disaster, prompting dozens to try to reach safety.

Around 1,100 people from the area were evacuated following the disaster. Most of them were accommodated in hotels.

It is still unclear why thousands of cubic metres of earth and rock broke away from the hillside. There had recently been heavy rainfall in the area, as in other parts of China.

During the rainy summer months, China is repeatedly hit by deadly floods or landslides. Just last weekend, a sudden flood at a holiday camp near the city of Ding xi in the province of Gansu claimed the lives of ten people. A further 23 people were injured.