KUNMING, July 10  -- Rescuers clearing debris in search of 17 people left missing following a mudslide in southwest China's Yunnan Province finished their operation on Thursday morning without finding any of the people.

They were left missing after the natural disaster struck a silicon mining site in Shawa Village, Fugong County, at around 3 a.m. on Wednesday.

Rescuers said they may have been swept into the Nujiang River, which is about 500 meters from the site.

Li Hongwen, Party secretary of the county, said rescuers have been sent to scour the river.

Most of Yunnan has entered the annual flood season. As of June 30, 61 people in Yunnan had been killed or were missing due to disasters brought by heavy rain, according to the provincial meteorological bureau.

Yunnan is prone to mudslides on rainy days as more than 90 percent of the province is mountainous.