At least 16 people have been killed after a huge landslide hit a camp for construction workers in northeast India.

The workers were asleep in their accommodation when the landslide hit, according to the AFP news agency.

Three labourers survived, escaping with only minor injuries, but one more worker is still missing.

India's National Disaster Management Authority said police and soldiers had rushed to the scene.

The landslide happened in Tawang, in the remote Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh.

While the majority of India is in the grip of an extreme heat wave, days of torrential rain have plagued the northeastern states.

The region is notoriously wet, and the nearby state of Meghalaya is home to Mawsynram, officially the wettest place in the world.

The main rainy season runs from June to October, but significant rain also falls in the preceding months.

The recent downpours are likely to have weakened the soil in the mountainous region, which regularly suffers landslides in the rainy season.