The owner of a gypsum mine in China, which collapsed two days ago, was found drowned in a well in sunday, in what authorities suspect was a case of suicide. On the other hand, the provincial government of Guangdong in China labelled the deadly landslide in Shenzhen city a man-made disaster, and said it would check all construction waste sites to see if rules were being followed.
State media quoted local authorities as saying that Yurong Commerce and Trade Ltd Co president Ma Congbo, the collapse of whose gypsum mine has resulted in at least one deaths, with 17 miners still missing, jumped into a mine well and drowned. He was assisting with rescue efforts on Sunday morning, which have resulted in the rescue of 11 miners, said an Associated Press report.
As for the December 20 landslide, which killed at least two people and has resulted in 70 others going missing, a team directed by the Guangdong cabinet probing the incident found that the disaster was caused by waste construction material from a landfill, and was not a natural geological movement, reported Reuters, quoting a statement from the cabinet.
"Those held accountable will be seriously punished in accordance with the law," the statement said.
Chinese firms and industries have often been accused of taking a lackadaisical attitude towards workers' safety in the absence of strict monitoring in some places. However, as and when anyone has been found guilty of such conduct, China has ensured harsh punishment for them, said the AP report.
Meanwhile, a Xinhua report quoted a Shenzhen official as saying that there is still some risk of more landslides at three separate places at the Shenzhen industrial park — where the landslide buried 33 buildings — and professionals have been brought in to deal with the issue.
Thankfully, no air or water pollution has reportedly been detected at the landslide site.
