At least seven people have died in landslides trigged by heavy rains in mountainous central Ecuador, police said on Monday evening. A further 16 people were injured while around 20 were missing, police said. Search and rescue operations were continuing in the provinces of Tungurahua and Chimborazo, where heavy rains at the weekend triggered landslides. In Chimborazo, some 40 people were rescued after the Chambo River swelled and several houses were swept away by the water. In the area of Gualiñag, police were recovering four bodies from a car swept away by a landslide.