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Agence France-Presse

The Shenzhen landslide that killed seven people and left dozens missing was an “industrial safety accident” rather than a geological disaster, a Chinese cabinet investigation reportedly found.
The landslide, which struck the southern city on Sunday, is the latest in a series of fatal man-made accidents in the world’s most populous country – coming just months after a massive chemical blast in the industrial city of Tianjin killed almost 200 people.

The disaster was caused by the improper storage of waste from construction sites, according to the official newspaper of the Ministry of Land and Resources.
ALSO READ: Dozens of people buried in Shandong gypsum mine collapse
Soil was illegally piled 100 metres high at an old quarry site and turned to mud during rain on Sunday morning, according to the state-run Global Times.
About 75 people are still missing and seven bodies have been found so far, Xinhua said yesterday in the latest count, adding that only one rescued person, 19-year-old Tian Zeming, had made it out alive.

The State Council, China’s cabinet, announced earlier this week that it would set up a team headed by the minister of land resources to investigate the disaster.
READ MORE: Man found alive under eight metres of Shenzhen rubble survived by ‘thinking of mother and eating sunflower seeds’
Documents on the website of Guangming New District, where the landslide occurred, showed that authorities were aware of problems with the soil storage and had urged action as early as July.


In an announcement dated July 10, officials said work at the site was not being carried out according to approved plans and ordered the Hongao Construction Waste Dump to “speed up” work to bring its operations into line.
IN PICTURES: From Shenzhen to Linfen, a deadly history of unnatural disasters in mainland China
The government issued a second warning in September, noting that the dump’s permit to receive waste had expired and authorities had made it clear that dumping should cease.
The city had “pointed out problems at the site and requested steps to correct them”, the statement said.


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Shenzhen landslide

Shenzhen landslide declared an industrial accident, not geological disaster, after government investigation

Rescue workers work on a damaged building during search and rescue operations at an industrial estate hit by a landslide in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, December 23, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

(151225) -- SHENZHEN, Dec. 25, 2015 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken with a drone on Dec. 24, 2015 shows the landslide site at an industrial park in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. More than 5,000 rescuers with over 700 excavators and bulldozers are still searching through rubble for signs of life following Sunday's landslide at an industrial park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian) (lfj)

(151224) -- SHENZHEN, Dec. 24, 2015 (Xinhua) -- Landslide survivor Tian Zeming meets with his father Tian Zulong at the Central Hospital of Guangming New District in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 24, 2015. Tian was rescued early Wednesday morning, more than 60 hours after being buried by a landslide at an industrial park in the southern city of Shenzhen. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian) (lfj)

Rescue workers search a damaged building in the aftermath of the Shenzhen landslide. Photo: Reuters

After deadly Shenzhen landslide, a battle for answers at the heart of the tragedy

Policemen with police dogs walk next to a site of a landslide which hit an industrial park in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, December 21, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Police officers wearing masks are seen near a barricade next to a site of a landslide which hit an industrial park in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, December 21, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Chinese policemen with police dogs mount a patrol near the site of a landslide which hit an industrial park in Shenzhen, Guangdong. Photo: Reuters

In pictures: From Shenzhen to Linfen, a deadly history of unnatural disasters in mainland China

REFILE - CORRECTING DATE.Huang Fuxuan (C) mourns as the body of her mother is found at the site of a rain-triggered mudslide in Xiangfen county, Shanxi county, Shanxi province September 12, 2008. Beijing has now ordered urgent checks on mines throughout the country to stem a recent upsurge in accidents, Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily said on Thursday. The president and premier had also both promised legal action against those found responsible for the Tashan disaster, Xinhua News Agency said. REUTERS/Aly Song (CHINA)

(080908) -- XIANGFEN (SHANXI), Sept. 8, 2008 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers search for survivors in houses hit by mud-rock flow at the Tashan Mine in Xiangfen County under Linfen City of north China's Shanxi Province. At least 26 people were killed on Monday in a rain-triggered mud-rock flow causing the collapse of a warehouse holding waste ore dregs at the Tashan Mine. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing) (wjd)

An explosion happens in Chinas Tianjin port late Wednesday 12 August 2015. Multiple explosions killed at least 44 people and injured hundreds in the biggest port in the northern part of the country, handling shipments of metal ore, coal, automobiles and crude oil. The port, located about 160 kilometers southeast of Beijing in Tianjin municipality, has a container terminal and is near China National Offshore Oil Corp.s Tianjin FLNG, Chinas first floating liquefied natural-gas terminal. The LNG plant has a capacity of 1.059 trillion cubic feet a year, according to Bloomberg data. Total throughput at Tianjin rose 10 percent in 2014 to 445.8 million metric tons, according to Hong Kong-listed Tianjin Port Development Holdings Ltd. The port handled 110.5 million tons of metal ore, 88.9 million tons of coal and 18.7 million tons of crude oil, the equivalent of 375,000 barrels a day. The port area is also home to manufacturing facilities, including construction-equipment makers Deere & Co. and

Friends console distraught Huang Fuxuan as the body of her mother is found at the site of a rain-triggered mudslide in Xiangfen county, Shanxi county, in 2008. Photo: Reuters

One dead and 17 people still trapped underground in collapsed China's Shandong mine

(151225) -- PINGYI, Dec. 25, 2015 (Xinhua) -- A firefighter directs rescue work at the collapsed gypsum mine in Pingyi County, east China's Shandong Province, Dec. 25, 2015. A gypsum mine collapsed in Baotai Township of Pingyi County on Friday morning, trapping 25 people underground, local authorities said.  (Xinhua/Guo Xulei) (dhf)

(151225) -- PINGYI, Dec. 25, 2015 (Xinhua) -- Armed police unload woods for tunnel support of the collapsed gypsum mine in Pingyi County, east China's Shandong Province, Dec. 25, 2015. A gypsum mine collapsed in Baotai Township of Pingyi County on Friday morning, trapping 25 people underground, local authorities said.  (Xinhua/Guo Xulei) (dhf)

A firefighter directs rescue work at the collapsed gypsum mine in Pingyi County, in east China's Shandong Province. Photo: Xinhua

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