The bodies of three children aged 4, 7 and 8 were recovered on Sunday (October 17) after floods hit southern India's Kerala state.

The children were found holding on to each other, according to Newsflare's reporter at the scene.

Separately all six members of one family also died. At least 18 people have died in total after torrential rains swept through Kerala.

Video filmed on Sunday shows rescue workers searching for survivors. Earlier they recovered six members of one family, all of whom had lost their lives in a landslide that swept away their home in Koottickal town, which lies at the base of Western Ghats mountain ranges in the Kerala's Kottayam district.

The family of six included a 40-year-old man, his 35-year-old wife, their three girls aged 10, 12 and 14 and the man's 75-year-old mother.

The National Disaster Response Force and the Indian Army have been deployed to help with rescue efforts, AP reported.

Rescue teams look for survivors as they recover more bodies today from flood hit Kerala

All 6 members of a family lost their lives in a landslide that hit Koottickal in the Kottayam district. A family of six including a 40-year-old man, his 75-year-old mother, the 35-year-old wife, and three girl children aged 14, 12, and 10 were killed as their house was swept away in the landslide.

The bodies of three children buried under slush were recovered today after an intense rescue effort. The children, aged eight, seven, and four, were found holding to each other. The rescue personnel is continuing the search operations to locate the missing. Five bodies have been recovered after hours of rescue operations on Sunday. Except for Martin, the rest of the bodies were found where their house was located. Martin's body was found about a kilometer away from the spot.