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2nd LD: "Improper storage" of waste, human error blamed for fatal landslide

Xinhua, July 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

A dump site landslide that killed 73 people and left four others missing in Shenzhen in December was an "extraordinarily serious" safety accident caused by human errors, a report by a State Council investigation team said Friday.

After nearly seven months of investigation, the team concluded that the accident was caused by the improper storage of construction waste, and lack of an efficient drainage system in the landfill site.

The disaster was a safety accident due to dereliction of duty, rather than a natural geological movement, the report said.

As of Jan. 14, 2.78 million cubic meters of waste soil had been removed from the dump site. Seventeen people injured in the incident had received treatment, and 4,630 employees in 90 companies affected had been relocated.

The team identified 110 people with various levels of responsibility for the landslide, 53 of whom have been put under "coercive measures." "Coercive measures" may include summons by force, bail, residential surveillance, detention and arrest.

The report recommends that the license of Shenzhen Yixianglong, the company managing the dump site, be revoked and company executives be banned from executive posts in the sector.

The other two companies responsible for the accident should face fines and other punishments, the investigation concluded.

The accident on Dec. 20 destroyed 33 buildings with direct economic losses at 880 million yuan (132 million U.S. dollars).

It exposed slack safety management, the absence of supervision by local authorities, and breaches of construction safety rules.

The team made suggestions for improving government supervision to prevent such tragedies.

China should give more priority to production safety, the report said, advising that governments delimit responsibilities clearly, strengthen safety management in urban regions and raise awareness of risk control.

The team urged governments to improve urban management, enhance supervision over urban dump sites, strengthen emergency management, and tighten safety requirements. Endi