TOKYO, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Six people remain unaccounted for after a landslide buried three houses on Wednesday in Oita Prefecture, southwestern Japan, local officials said.

According to police and government officials in the city of Nakatsu, three houses in the town of Yabakei were engulfed by a landslide after a mountain slope collapsed at around 3:50 a.m. local time.

Local rescue officials said they have asked for heavy machinery to be deployed to shift soil to access the accident site.

Ground Self-Defense Force personnel will also assist in the search and rescue mission, they said.