Officials in the western Japanese prefecture of Ehime say three people have been confirmed dead after they were found at the site of a landslide in Matsuyama City.

The slope of a mountain, with Matsuyama Castle at its summit, collapsed just before 4 a.m. on Friday, causing mud to enter houses and apartment buildings.

The collapsed area was 50 meters wide and 100 meters high.

Firefighters and police searched the area and found two men and one woman on Saturday afternoon. They were later confirmed to be a family of three that had been missing since the landslide. The victims were a man in his 90s, a woman in her 80s, and their son in his 40s.

A maximum level-five alert has been issued for 22,062 residents in the area. They are advised to immediately take steps to ensure their personal safety.

Weather officials expect intermittent rain accompanied by lightning in the prefecture through Sunday and are urging people to be on alert for more possible landslides.