Rescuers carry 19-year-old survivor Tian Zeming after he was pulled from debris on December 23, 2015 some 67 hours after a giant flow of mud and construction waste engulfed buildings in Shenzhen, Guangdong province

Rescuers search for survivors at the site where a giant flow of mud and construction waste engulfed buildings in Shenzhen, Guangdong province on December 23, 2015

Rescuers search for survivors at the site where a giant flow of mud and construction waste engulfed buildings in Shenzhen, Guangdong province on December 23, 2015

Rescuers search for survivors at the site where a giant flow of mud and construction waste engulfed buildings in Shenzhen, Guangdong province on December 23, 2015. Rescuers scrabbling through the aftermath of a huge three-day-old landslide discovered two people alive in the mud

A young man has been found alive after spending more than 60 hours under a massive landslide in southern China, having apparently been saved by a door that trapped his foot and gave him the space to survive.

In a feeble voice, migrant worker Tian Zeming, 21, was able to tell rescuers his name and that another person was buried near him. But medical and rescue staff who went down into the rubble found the second person had not survived.

More than 70 people are still missing after the mountain of construction waste material and mud collapsed at midday on Sunday and flowed into an industrial park in Shenzhen.

The city, near Hong Kong, makes products ranging from mobile phones to cars that are sold around the world and it attracts workers from all parts of China.

Expand Close Rescuers search for survivors at the site where a giant flow of mud and construction waste engulfed buildings in Shenzhen, Guangdong province on December 23, 2015 AFP/Getty Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Rescuers search for survivors at the site where a giant flow of mud and construction waste engulfed buildings in Shenzhen, Guangdong province on December 23, 2015

Zhang Hu, a city vice-mayor, told a televised news conference that four bodies had been found. He said that even though the critical 72-hour period to find survivors had passed, they are continuing rescue efforts with a team of 5,000.

"As long as there is a sliver of hope, we will never give up," he said.

Expand Close Rescuers search for survivors at the site where a giant flow of mud and construction waste engulfed buildings in Shenzhen, Guangdong province on December 23, 2015 AFP/Getty Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Rescuers search for survivors at the site where a giant flow of mud and construction waste engulfed buildings in Shenzhen, Guangdong province on December 23, 2015

State broadcaster CCTV reported that Mr Tian underwent surgery on a broken hand and on his foot, which had been wedged against a door panel. It said he had been trying to get out of his room when the building collapsed, and the door panel created space for him to survive.

Hospital boss Wang Guangming said Mr Tian is in stable condition, but extremely weak, dehydrated and with several soft tissue injuries and multiple fractures, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Xinhua reported that rescuers had located him underground at 3.30am and pulled him out of a collapsed factory building three hours later. Firefighters had to squeeze into the room and remove most of the debris by hand to get to Mr Tian, who is from Chongqing city in south-western China.

Residents have said raised questions about why officials did not act to stop the growing mountain of construction waste, which they said they had feared was dangerous.

Expand Close Rescuers carry 19-year-old survivor Tian Zeming after he was pulled from debris on December 23, 2015 some 67 hours after a giant flow of mud and construction waste engulfed buildings in Shenzhen, Guangdong province AFP/Getty Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Rescuers carry 19-year-old survivor Tian Zeming after he was pulled from debris on December 23, 2015 some 67 hours after a giant flow of mud and construction waste engulfed buildings in Shenzhen, Guangdong province

The Ministry of Land and Resources has said the steep mountain of dirt, cement chunks and other waste had been piling up for two years.

Heavy rains made the soil heavy and unstable, causing the pile to collapse with massive force.

State media reported that the New Guangming District government had identified problems with the mountain of soil months earlier.

The Legal Evening News said a district government report in January found that the dump had received 1 million cubic meters of waste and warned of a "catastrophe".

PA Media