Chinese officials order checks on all construction waste sites in Guangdong after deadly Shenzhen landslide
Dumps that operate in ‘forbidden zones’ must move, and owners of illegal or mismanaged sites will be prosecuted, state media say
China’s southern province of Guangdong, one of the country’s biggest industrial bases, will check all construction waste sites in the wake of a deadly landslide to ensure none are in dangerous locations or poorly managed, state media said on Sunday.
The December 20 landslide in the boom town of Shenzhen buried more than 30 buildings in an industrial park and has left around 70 people missing, with only a handful of bodies found so far.
Watch: Shenzhen party chief apologises over landslide disaster
The Guangdong government said there were many problems with the management of building waste sites, including safety issues, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Sites found operating in “forbidden zones” such as close to hospitals, residential neighbourhoods, kindergartens and rail lines will need to be moved immediately, with cities responsible for moving them, Xinhua added.
Those found responsible for illegal or poorly managed sites will be prosecuted, while efforts need to be made to speed up development of a risk-management system, it said.
The company managing the dump site in Shenzhen that had the landslide, Yixianglong, was urged to stop work four days before the disaster, an executive with a government-appointed monitoring agency said on Thursday.
