Small stone houses and huts at the foot of the mountain village of Masara were destroyed on Saturday by falling mud and rocks, killing six villagers and injuring 17 others. Another landslide struck the village early on Sunday, killing five more people.

The landslides, which cascaded down a mountainside with frightening booms, buried about 28 houses and forced up to 5,000 people in Masara and nearby villages to run for their lives, said Mayor Voltaire Rimando.

Mr Rimando declared a state of emergency in Masara, which he described as a "no man's land" because of the danger and devastation.

Army and police, backed by two air force helicopters and workers from a gold-mining company, battled heavy rains and mud to search for at least 16 villagers reported buried, regional police Chief Andres Caro said.

Among the missing were Masara village chief Juvencio Anquera, who helped in the rescue work following the first landslide. He went missing with his two children when their house was hit by the second landslide, Mr Caro said.

The landslides occurred in Compostela Valley province, about 520 miles south-east of Manila.

Roger Corales, who escaped unharmed, said he saw people crying for help as they slowly disappeared under the falling earth, their hands grasping desperately for something to hold on to.

A landslide last year killed 10 people in the same village, prompting the Bureau of Mines and Geosciences to recommend that the landslide-prone area be abandoned. But many villagers, who depend on the local gold-mining industry for a living, refused to leave, Mr Caro said.