NEW DELHI - At least four persons died and several others were feared trapped after a landslide took place in India's southern state of Karnataka, a local police confirmed to Xinhua over phone on Thursday.

The landslide hit National Highway No 66 in Shirur area of Ankola town in the state's Uttara Kannada district, amid incessant rains in the region over the past few days.

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Rescue work was being carried out at the site of the landslide.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force, the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard were involved in the rescue, added the police.

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Media reports quoted Uttara Kannada Deputy Commissioner Lakshmi Priya as saying that "there was a major landslide in Shirur along Ankola town.

Seven people were missing, we have recovered four bodies, but three people are still missing."

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Rescuers "are trying to clear one side of the road so that they can allow the traffic to pass ... We expect it to be done in another 24 to 48 hours, but the entire excavation will take some time," she added.