Wang Guoshe, head of Guangdong fire department, said they were working to expose the buried buildings as soon as possible for precise detection of vital signs.
A total of 1,817 disaster-affected people have been evacuated.
INVESTIGATION TEAM
On Wednesday morning, the State Council, China's cabinet, began an investigation into the incident. Minister of Land and Resources Jiang Daming will lead the investigation team, which includes representatives of Guangdong and Shenzhen governments, five ministries, the State Administration of Work Safety and trade unions.
The accident comes at the end of the year that began badly with a New Year's Eve stampede in Shanghai and saw a catastrophic explosion at a chemical warehouse in Tianjin in August.
As China pushes forward with urbanization, more attention must be paid to urban management. Just last weekend, policymakers agreed to transform urban development patterns and improve city management.
Wang Yongquan, who narrowly escaped the Shenzhen landslide, said he and his neighbors had watched trucks carrying construction waste for the past two years, and seen a mountain of rubble grow where once was a hollow quarry.
"We never thought it could be dangerous," he said.
When the landslide occurred, he was returning home with his five-year-old daughter from the supermarket and ran as fast as he could with the girl in his arms. His parents and brother-in-law from central China's Henan province are among the missing. They worked as laborers and garbage collectors. Wang's home was on the hillside 200 meters from where the landslide started.
"I still have hope," Wang said as he watched the excavators going about their arduous task where his home used to be.
