Heart-melting images of a sniffer dog collapsing at the site of a massive landslide in Southwest China's Sichuan Province have moved Chinese netizens to tears, as rescue work continued in Maoxian county, where at least 10 people have been killed and 93 others are still missing.

The golden retriever named Xiaohu, aged 11 [equivalent of about a 63-year-old human being], was seen lying and panting on the ground, after working for more than 10 hours in a desperate search for survivors who could be buried after the landslide

The landsclide engulfed 62 homes in Xinmo village on Saturday morning, blocking a 2-kilometer section of a river and burying 1,600 meters of road.

The dog is among dozens of heroic canines that have joined the rescue efforts in Maoxian county.

"These dogs are doing their utmost to save their best friend - the human being. Its so touching," said Sina Weibo user "chengmengqi."

Dogs' excellent sniffing ability makes them top-notch rescuers after disasters such as earthquake and landslide, Gou Shaolin, chief of China's Blue Sky Rescue Team, the first rescue team to arrive in Xinmo after the disaster, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

However, few private rescue organizations in China can afford to employ rescue dogs as it costs hundreds of thousands of yuan to train a professional rescue dog, said Gou, noting that the money is mainly used for the dogs' food and salary of trainers.

On Tuesday morning, the ruins of the massive landslide site were hit by minor secondary slides, the Maoxian county emergency office told the Global Times.

The 72-hour "golden window" for survival ended Tuesday but the rescue continued.