MANILA, Philippines —  Officials in the Philippines say at least 27 people are dead or missing after two landslides struck a remote village.

They say heavy rains caused the cascades of rocks and mud, which buried more than 20 houses in a gold-mining region in the southern part of the country. Officials say at least 11 people are dead and 16 others are missing.

The mayor of one mountain village says as many as 5,000 people have had to run for their lives. He says the area has become a "no man's land." A state of emergency has been declared.

The Philippine army and police, backed by air force helicopters, and others having been battling rains and mud to search for people thought to be buried. The missing include rescuers who'd been helping after the first landslide, only to be struck by the second.