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Rescuers in India's northeast have recovered 20 bodies from the site of a landslide that buried a railway construction camp, the army said Friday, after a second day of search efforts.

Security forces and disaster relief teams are still racing to rescue dozens more feared trapped under debris at the site of the incident in Manipur state.

Most victims were reserve soldiers from the Territorial Army who had been working on the railway project.

An army statement said that 18 people had been safely recovered so far, while 15 reservists and 29 civilians were still missing.

A rescue team was digging through mud and removing boulders in the search for more survivors, army spokesman Sumit Kumar Sharma said.

"The loss of lives, including our armed forces personnel is deeply saddening," Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh wrote on Twitter.

In the landslide affected sites of Tupul, Ministers of the state Govt, local MLAs and officials are also camping to oversee the rescue operation.

The loss of lives, including our armed forces personnel is deeply saddening. We still have over 50 missing persons to be found.

— N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh)

India's remote northeast has been pummelled by heavy rainfall in recent weeks, triggering landslides and floods.

Dozens were killed in the region after flooding last month, with relentless rains causing landslides and inundating homes.

Earlier this year, at least 10 people, including a four-year-old child, were killed in floods and landslides after unusually heavy rains hit several parts of India.

Experts say climate change is increasing the number of extreme weather events around the world, with damming, deforestation and development projects in India exacerbating the human toll.