More Than 40 Missing After Landslide in Shenzhen, Xinhua Says

Almost 3,000 armed police and firefighters had been deployed to help with the rescue but “still had not made sizeable further progress”, a China National Radio report said.

The New York Times stated that the cause of the landslide in the southern Chinese city was due to a build up of construction debris and earth that was deposited on the side of a hill for the past two years which eventually gave way with assistance from the heavy showers hitting the region.

About 900 people were moved out of harm’s way before the landslide struck late in the morning in the city bordering Hong Kong, according to the Shenzhen Evening News newspaper.

A massive landslide in China’s Guangdong Province has injured three people and left 27 missing.

Locals told Xinhua that hundreds of trucks carrying construction waste used to dump trash into the pile every day. Moreover, it is said to be a man-made activity.

“We are providing food and drinks, mattresses and quilts to meet people’s basic needs”, said Chen Jun, a volunteer at Guangming District Sports Centre. Shenzhen lacks the capacity to accommodate all of the waste.

The Shenzhen government did not respond to requests for comment.

The pile of construction waste had been stored at an old, disused quarry.

Such dump sites were often forced through despite opposition by residents, media reports said.

“The pile was too big, the pile was too steep, leading to instability and collapse”, the ministry stated.

A nearby section of a major West-to-East natural gas pipeline burst following the landslide, cutting off the gas supply to neighboring Hong Kong.

“Rescue operations were slowed by numerous obstacles, including continued rain, low visibility overnight, and mud, Ao Zhuoqian, a member of the city’s fire brigade, told the official Xinhua news agency”.

Rescuers continue to sift through rubble in the search for survivors, despite low visibility and persistent rain.

The landslide buried 33 buildings including 14 factory buildings, two office buildings, one canteen, three dormitories and 13 low-rise buildings.

According to the firefighting division of Guangdong Public Security Bureau, as of Sunday evening local time, 11 firefighting teams are participating in the search and rescue of victims trapped after the Shenzhen landslide.

State television said the 91 missing included 59 men and 32 women. “What’s going on there now?” the person wrote.

China has a poor industrial safety record, which has struggled to keep pace with the speed of the country’s economic growth.

In August, a chemical storage depot exploded in the northern port city of Tianjin, killing more than 170 people and exposing a lax system of government regulations and official corruption.

Rescuers work their way through the ruined buildings.

Emergency services search a collapsed building after the landslide buried dozens of buildings.