Earlier, 11 deaths were reported. The search operation is underway for another 24 people who went missing. More than 1,000 emergency personnel and 150 units of special equipment - excavators, bulldozers, and trucks - are engaged in rescue operations.
The incident occurred near the city of Zhaotong on Monday at 05:51 Beijing time, TASS reported.
The authorities have mobilized several agencies to search for and rescue those missing. As many as 918 residents have been evacuated from the disaster area.
Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered to make every effort to carry out search and rescue operations at the site of the landslide in Yunnan.
SD/PR