ADDIS ABABA: In a tragic incident, as many as 55 people were killed in a landslide in a remote area of southern Ethiopia on Monday, local authorities said, warning that the death toll could rise.

"More than 55 bodies have been found from the landslide," a statement from the Gofa zone Communications Affairs Department said, quoting local chief Dagmawi Zerihun, who warned "the death toll could yet increase".

The landslide occurred around 10:00 am (0700 GMT) following heavy rains in the mountainous area of South Ethiopia regional state, Dagmawi said.

Women and children were among the casualties, he said, adding the search for survivors was "continuing vigorously".

Images shared on Facebook by the state-affiliated media outlet Fana Broadcasting Corporate showed hundreds of people near a devastating scene of tumbled red soil.

The photographs showed people using their bare hands to dig through the dirt in search of survivors.

Gofa zone is roughly 450 kilometres (270 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa, a drive of about 10 hours, and located north of the Maze National Park.

The South Ethiopia regional state has been battered by the short seasonal rains between April and early May that have caused flooding and mass displacement, according to the UN's humanitarian response agency OCHA.

It said in May that "floods impacted over 19,000 people in several zones, displacing over a thousand and causing damage to livelihoods and infrastructure".

The southern region area has experienced tragic landslides previously, with at least 32 people killed in 2018 after two separate landslides within a week of each other.