At least 100 houses have been buried by a landslide in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, officials have said.

Heavy rain saturated a 200m (656ft) wide strip of mountainside above the town of Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec, causing it to slip at 0400 (0900 GMT).

It is not clear how many people have been affected, but the state governor said up to 600 could have been buried.

Rescue teams have been delayed because of the bad weather, which has made several roads in the area impassable.

"There has been lots of rain, rivers have overflowed and we're having a hard time reaching the area because there are landslides on the roads," Oaxaca state governor Ulises Ruiz told the Televisa network. He said local telephone lines had been cut off. [ BBC NEWS ]