Six people were killed and 11 were missing on Monday after they were buried in a landslide caused by heavy rain on Indonesia's Java island, a disaster official said.

Eighteen people had initially been buried beneath the landslide but six have since been rescued, national disaster management agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

Heavy rains early Monday in West Bandung district triggered the disaster which claimed six lives, including including four children aged between five to 12.

"The latest data showed that 17 were buried in landslide, of which six bodies have been pulled out from debris and 11 people are still missing," he said.

"The search operation has been carried out manually as it is impossible for heavy machinery to get into the affected location due to the rough terrain," he said, adding that the landslide took place in hilly areas.

The landslide also seriously injured two people who are being treated in a nearby hospital, he said.

Sutopo said two other landslides also took place separately in Bogor district of West Java province on Monday destroying more than a dozen houses but no casualties were reported.

Floods and landslides are common in Indonesia, which is prone to frequent bursts of heavy rain.

Environmentalists blame logging and a failure to reforest denuded land for exacerbating flooding.