RESCUERS and officials mourned the dead and presumed dead at a ceremony held at the scene of the landslide in Guangming New Area on Saturday, the seventh day after the disaster.

    They put down their tools, took off their helmets and stood in silence for three minutes to pay tribute to the dead, while excavators honked their horns in memory of the victims. White flowers were placed on the debris.

    “We will not give up if there is a slim of chance,” said Jiang Hai, a team leader on the Shenzhen Zhihuihai Rescue Team, a nongovernmental rescue group.

    Jiang is among the 5,000 rescuers at the site who have worked day and night with little time to rest.

    Although extremely fatigued, around 5,000 rescue team members are still searching through the mud that covers the former industrial parks.

    According to Chinese tradition, the seventh day after a death marks the height of mourning. Some believe a soul comes back to earth to visit family for the last time on the seventh day.

    “I hope the dead can rest in peace. I also hope this brings some comfort to the families of the missing,” a rescuer said.

    Du Xin, a volunteer, donated 50 lamps to mourn those who disappeared in the landslide.

    “When I learned that more than 20 were missing on the second day, I bought these lamps and donated them to charity,” said Du, who has been working at a resettlement center in recent days.

    He offers logistics service at the center.

    (Richard Han)