Fifteen people died and six others were injured after a mountain flood caused a landslide that destroyed a one-story hostel in Yuelin village in Hengyang, Hunan province, on Sunday morning, according to Hunan Daily.

The incident occurred at 8:18 am on Sunday, the report said.

The village is part of the Nanyue district of Hengyang, where the famous tourist attraction Hengshan Mountain is located.

As of Sunday night, the on-site search and rescue work has concluded, and the injured have been taken to the hospital for medical treatment. More than 300 first responders have been dispatched to assist in the efforts, the report said, citing Hunan emergency response headquarters.

Shen Xiaoming, Party secretary of Hunan, immediately went to the emergency response headquarters in Changsha to hold a video conference to guide the search and rescue efforts while Mao Weiming, governor of Hunan, visited the site.

The Hunan provincial meteorological center issued the highest red alert for heavy rainfall on Saturday. Torrential rain battered 494 townships in Hunan from 8 am on Saturday to 8 am on Sunday in the wake of Typhoon Gaemi, according to the center. The rainfall is expected to continue in most parts of the province. The central and northern parts were expected to experience heavy rain until Monday, the center said.

The province's headquarters for flood and drought control raised the response level for flood to the second-highest on Saturday night.

A villager surnamed Li told Jimu News that it had been raining heavily in Hengyang since Saturday night.

The landslide destroyed the kitchen and canteen of the hostel. Guests and employees of the hostels were having breakfast when the disaster occurred.

After the incident on Sunday, the Ministry of Emergency Management initiated a Level-IV emergency response to geological disasters in Hunan, and dispatched a working group to the affected area to offer guidance for local relief operations.