Rescue workers worked through mud and rain to rescue nearly 20 missing people after a giant mudslide hit a Japanese seaside resort town and killed at least three people and swept away houses and cars.

The mudslide hit the town of Atami, located south-west of Tokyo, on early Saturday after heavy rain lashed the town over many days.

Japan has deployed hundreds of soldiers, firefighters and policemen, who worked through thick mud, continuous rain and fog. According to news agency AP, the rescue team is being assisted by three coast guard ships, and six military drones were being deployed.

The weather accident happened in an area which is well known for hot springs, a shrine and shopping streets.

AP quotes Yuka Komatsu, who told Japan's Asahi newspaper that she escaped the mudslide after seeing a nearby apartment building being hit. She grabbed her mother and jumped into her car, all the while witnessing the muddy water bringing with it broken trees and rocks. “I wonder what happened to our house,” she told Asahi.

It is believed that land development taking place uphill is believed to be the cause of the mudslide. Contractors for a housing development were piling up mud, which seems to have slid down.

According to local authorities, three people have been found dead till now, twenty-three people stranded by the slide have been rescued and search is on for 20 more people.

Officials said 215 people were registered as living in the 130 homes and other buildings damaged by the slide. The officials are trying to get in touch with all residents of the town.