The unidentified head of the Russian Emergencies Ministry team currently in China said the decision to call off the search due to the decreased possibility that any trapped quake survivors were still alive, RIA Novosti reported Saturday.

"We will turn now to clearing away the rubble, removing corpses and a cleanup of the area," the ministry official said.

Monday's earthquake killed nearly 29,000 people and collapsed an unspecified number of buildings across the province.

While thousands of people were found amidst the rubble in the first days following the 7.8-magnitude quake, each passing day diminished the likelihood of anyone being pulled out alive.

RIA Novosti said expectations are that the death toll will continue to rise as bodies are uncovered.