Shenzhen landslide: 73 bodies found in collapsed waste dump

World Today

Shenzhen landslide

After more than a month, workers have recovered 73 bodies from the landslide caused by the collapse of a massive waste dump in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

The landslide took place during heavy downpour on December 20 and engulfed 33 buildings, with rubble piled as high as four stories in some places.

Since the landslide, 77 people have been reported missing. Despite Wednesday’s recovery, four people are still believed to be missing, Internet Information Office of the Shenzhen municipal government said on its Weibo account.

More than 10,000 people were involved in the rescue efforts.

MORE CCTV COVERAGE OF SHENZHEN LANDSLIDE

Authorities said it was hard to pinpoint the exact number of missing. Many people who lived and worked in the industrial district were thought to be migrant workers from China’s poorer, inland provinces. They are often unregistered and their relatives are hard to contact, which makes identifying the victims a challenge.

Though the incident was cited as a landslide, an investigation team sent by the central government has described it as a “man-made disaster.”

Police have arrested 42 people for their involvement in the incident. Earlier last week, a dozen of government officials were also charged over the deadly collapse.

Following the incident, the government has decided to compensate the family members of the victims.

All family members of the deceased have accepted government’s compensation and local farmers whose fields were buried also received compensation, the statement said. However, there were no specific details on the amount or the number of families who had been compensated.