ADDIS ABABA: Heavy rains triggered a landslide in southern Ethiopia on Tuesday, killing 12 people and "severely injuring" another four, state-affiliated media said.

The victims were killed when the landslide crushed three houses in the Dawro Zone of the Horn of Africa country's SNNP province, Fana Broadcasting Corporation said.

"The bodies of ten people have been recovered. The search is ongoing to uncover the remaining two corpses,” the agency said, quoting a district police chief.

The official said the four critically injured people were taken to hospital for treatment.

A landslide at a rubbish landfill site in the capital, Addis Ababa, killed 115 people last year.