Rescuers search for trapped persons in Beigeng Township, Xincheng County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, June 3, 2010.  [Xinhua]

The death toll from rain-triggered landslides and flooding in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region rose to 44 Thursday.

Eight people were still missing, said a statement from the regional flood control and drought relief headquarters.

In Rongxian County alone, the death toll climbed to 27 after four more bodies were recovered Thursday.

In Cenxi County, 12 people were confirmed dead as of Wednesday night.

Three deaths were reported in Tengxian County, Donglan County and Fangchenggang City.

Two primary school students, sisters aged 8 and 10, had been found drowned in Laibin City where flooding forced many schools to suspend classes.

More than 600 residents in two villages in Laibin had been evacuated because of land subsidence Thursday. Four pits and cracks were reported near the villages, with the biggest having a diameter of more than 70 meters and depth of 20 meters.

Increased water flow in underground rivers in wake of the torrential rains could have caused the subsidence, a Laibin municipal government official said.

Heavy rains began pounding Guangxi Monday and triggered landslides early Wednesday.

Across Guangxi, the rainstorms had battered 27 counties and 144,800 people had been evacuated by 4:00 PM Thursday, the regional civil affairs bureau said.

In addition, 8,123 houses had collapsed and 161,830 hectares of crops had been damaged. The direct economic losses were estimated at 1.2 billion yuan (US$176 million).

(Xinhua News Agency June 4, 2010)