SANTIAGO (AFP) - A mudslide that buried much of a village in southern Chile has killed 11 people while another 15 are still missing, the authorities said on Sunday (Dec 17).

The tragedy struck a picturesque village of Villa Santa Lucia in the southern Los Lagos (Lakes) region where heavy rain triggered mudslides that swallowed up most of the homes in the village of 300.

Ten families have been evacuated, Onemi added.

The town was unable to vote in Sunday's presidential runoff won by conservative ex-president Sebastian Pinera.

The toll surged from a previous count of eight dead and 12 injured.