Helicopters dropped rescuers into a village in southern Taiwan on Tuesday to search for victims of a massive mudslide that could have buried hundreds of people, officials said, Reuters reported.
Heavy rains from Typhoon Morakot triggered the mudslide, wiping out houses in the village in Kaohsiung county. Officials have said about 600 people could not be accounted for and they were feared buried.
The government said the confirmed death toll across Taiwan from Typhoon Morakot, which battered the island over the weekend, was 38.
Officials had rescued nearly 100 people from the village in Kaohsiung county out of about 1,000 residents, a military officer surnamed Hu, who was involved in the rescue, told Reuters.
Another official from the disaster agency said some villagers had been contacted, although he did not have specific figures.
"Some people have been contacted and some are still missing and we're still on the scene checking," the official said.
Heavy rain had washed out roads and bridges in the area, severing almost all land vehicle traffic. Helicopters were the only way to reach the village.
The storm caused floods in Taiwan's densely-populated south and farm-related losses on the island were estimated at T$4.2 billion ($128 million).
Typhoon Morakot also battered China's coast, killing six people and damaging 6,000 houses. Morakot also killed 22 people in the Philippines.