Nine people have died and 35 are still missing after a series of mudslides in an autonomous region of China's southwestern Sichuan province, local authorities said Thursday. A 33-year-old firefighter was among those killed by a flash flood that tipped over an emergency response vehicle as they went to help people affected by a mudslide in Wenchuan county, according to local officials.

State news agency Xinhua said another firefighter was receiving emergency treatment, citing Sichuan fire and rescue authorities. Six more people have been reported injured and more than 100,000 people have been evacuated from Wenchuan in the mountainous Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019