A Federal Police officer looks for stranded residents, from an aerial view, during an inspection flight of flood affected areas on the outskirts of Villahermosa Nov. 3, 2007. Thousands of people perched on roofs in southern Mexico on Saturday, desperate to be evacuated from flooding caused by heavy rains that has left most of Tabasco state under water and 800,000 people homeless.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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    BEIJING, Nov. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Up to 16 people were feared buried alive after a massive wave of mud and water roared through a Mexican village Monday, officials said.

    A landslide blocked an already rain-swollen river and pushed a wall of water and debris over remote San Juan Grijalva, home to about 600 people, most of whom fled into the hills ahead of the advancing wave.

    "This village practically disappeared," said Chiapas Gov. Juan Sabines, who was at the scene where rescue workers were digging for possible victims. Helicopters were seeking out residents who had fled into the hills, in order to evacuate them.

    The village, 45 miles southwest of Villahermosa, is near the border of heavily flooded Tabasco state and shares the same river systems. The landslide was the latest catastrophe caused by a week of heavy rains and flooding that left 80 percent of Tabasco under water, destroying or damaging the homes of about half a million people.

    Chiapas officials said between 12 and 16 people were missing and feared buried, while the federal Interior Department placed the number at 16. No bodies have been found.

    Meanwhile, at least 20,000 people in nearby Tabasco remained trapped Monday on the rooftops of homes as hungry and dehydrated victims scrambled for government packages of food and medicine.

    Gov. Andres Granier ordered central streets in the state capital of Villahermosa closed to all but rescue workers to prevent looting.

    Villahermosa, the state capital, was still completely under water, though river levels had begun to drop after rising to historic levels. The National Water Commission said it had begun efforts to start pumping the streets.

    (Agencies)