NANNING, Oct. 6 -- Rescuers in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are searching for 16 tourists who have lost contact with outsiders while camping in a nature reserve, authorities said Tuesday.

Fire brigade of Jinxiu County received a report about the missing at around 8:20 p.m. Monday. The 16 campers, mostly from the cities of Liuzhou and Hechi, arrived at Changtanhe nature reserve on October 2.

One of the campers called his wife at 11:56 a.m. Monday saying that they were trapped in the camping site as the level of a river suddenly rose and were in need of rescue.

Under the influence of typhoon Mujigae which landed on southern China Sunday, the county has been battered by rainstorms. The rising river and rugged mountain roads have hindered the rescue.