A hillside collapsed on a rural Mexican community on Tuesday and hundreds of people are feared dead, the region's governor said.

Oaxaca state Gov. Ulises Ruiz told the Televisa television network that the early morning landslide in the town Santa Maria de Tlahuitoltepec buried 100 to 300 houses and speculated that 500 to 1,000 people could be dead. He said rescuers are having a hard time reaching the area.

Ruiz said the landslide followed days of rain in the Sierra Juarez region.

Rescuers were flying in from Mexico City and emergency personnel have been sent to the town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Oaxaca city.

"There has been lots of rain, rivers have overflowed and we're having a hard time reaching the area because there are landslides on the roads," he said.