CHENGDU: A massive landslide in Southwest China's Sichuan province, which killed at least two people and injured 18, has forced the evacuation of some 10,000 residents along the Dadu River, authorities said on Friday.

The landslide took place in Shunhe township in Hanyuan county around 11:30 Thursday night. The debris formed a 250-m-long blockage on the Dadu River, killing two people, injuring 18, inundating eight farmhouses and destroying 10 vehicles.

"Five people were stranded by the rising water level upstream of the landslide soon after it happened. Rescuers are using motor boats to reach them," said Wang Yawen, chief of the Ya'an municipal emergency response office.