Using life-detection instruments, Li and his teammates had to closely monitor the locations where the excavators worked. "Once any signs of life are detected, we will turn to small excavators or just dig with the help of tools by ourselves," he said.

The National Health Commission said in a media release that two villagers who suffered soft tissue injuries because of the landslide had been hospitalized.

After the landslide occurred, the commission asked emergency medical rescue teams from Sichuan and Guizhou provinces, both of which are adjacent to Yunnan, to be ready to go to Zhenxiong at any time, it said.

The commission also said members of the national medical expert team for emergency rescue in the two provinces were told to be ready if needed.

Furthermore, a work group sent by the Yunnan health commission had arrived at the site. Some hospitals at the provincial, prefectural and county levels in Yunnan were instructed to be prepared to receive disaster survivors.