(AFP) - At least 16 people were killed and four were seriously injured in a landslide in Sarawak, police said today.

Rescue teams were trying to reach others still trapped by the landslide, which struck before dawn in the Simunjan district about 160 kilometres from the state's capital Kuching, state police commisioner Mohamed Yusof Jaafar said.

He told the Bernama news agency the landslide followed heavy rains in the area over the past two days and that the full extent of the disaster had yet to be determined.

A district police spokeswoman told AFP the victims were believed to be sleeping in their longhouse when it was hit by the landslide, but had no further details.