The landslide struck the Liangshui village of Zhaotong city at 5.51 am Beijing time on Monday and trapped a total of 47 people, the state-run Xinhua news agency said. 

Deaths of 11 of the nearly 50 persons was confirmed while 500 residents were evacuated from the landslide-hit areas. 

A preliminary investigation by an expert group stated that the landslide was triggered by the collapse of a steep cliff-top area measuring nearly 100 meters in width and 60 meters in height. 

The Ministry of Emergency Management upgraded the emergency response level to the second-highest level from the Level-III emergency response for disaster relief activated by the Provincial Commission for Disaster Reduction immediately after the landslide.

The ministry dispatched teams to the disaster-hit area to guide the rescue and relief work, according to the official media.

The Chinese government has allocated disaster relief funds totalling 50 million yuan (about USD 7 million) to support disaster relief and emergency rescue work focusing on search and rescue, the relocation of affected people, secondary disaster detection, the repair of damaged homes, and other areas, the report said.

More than 1,000 rescue workers equipped with 45 rescue dogs and 120 vehicles, including excavators, loaders and transport vehicles, were carrying out search and rescue work at the site.

As many as 33 firefighting vehicles and 10 loading machines were also mobilised to search for the missing.

Over 200 tents, 400 quilts, 600 cotton coats and 14 sets of emergency lighting equipment were also provided.