As rescuers continue to comb through the devastating aftermath of Sunday’s landslide in Shenzhen, the chorus of condemnation grows.

Residents are sure that illegal dumping of construction waste – apparently rife in recent years – contributed to the calamity.

Three decades of headlong economic growth have been catching up with China in terms of safety and damage to the environment.

The landslide is the fourth major disaster to strike China in a year following a deadly New Year’s Eve stampede in Shanghai, the capsizing of a cruise ship in the Yangtze River and a massive explosion at a chemicals warehouse in Tianjin on the coast near Beijing.

Human error has been suspected or confirmed in all three previous disasters, pointing to a lack of regulatory oversight and an often callous attitude toward safety in China despite the threat of harsh penalties.