Twenty-one people were killed and 11 are missing after continuous rainstorms on Wednesday and Thursday triggered flash floods and mud slides in southwest China, local government said.

Flash floods and mud slides in Ganzi and Liangshan autonomous prefectures in Sichuan Province killed 11 people, injured five, and left five missing on Thursday.

In Ganzi, the mud slide has also damaged a 300-meter stretch of the No. 215 Provincial Highway.

Continuous rains in the neighboring Chongqing Municipality have caused floods, slides and lightening strikes since Wednesday noon, leaving ten people dead and six others missing. About 363 people have been injured.

The rains have affected more than 2.3 million people and caused the evacuation of 112,000 people from their homes, said She Mingzhe, head of the municipality's civil affairs bureau.

Governments in Sichuan and Chongqing are organizing relief and search efforts for stricken people.

The rugged terrain and lack of communication have greatly hindered the efforts in rural mountainous areas.

(Xinhua News Agency May 25, 2007)