At least 85 people are still missing after a huge mud slide caused by accumulated dumping of construction waste impacted the Hengtaiyu Industrial Park in the northwestern section of Shenzhen on Sunday.
According to a published report from China Daily, the landslide buried 33 buildings at an industrial park in Shenzhen city, south of China’s Guangdong province. An initial investigation indicated that 14 factory buildings, two office buildings, one canteen, three dormitories and 13 low-rise buildings suffered extensive damage. The slide further ruptured a natural gas pipeline causing an explosion. More than 1,500 people, including firemen, policemen and medical staff were involved in the rescue operations, with more than 900 residents having been evacuated by the slide that occurred on Sunday. Other reports indicate the many of the missing are migrant workers who were employed in the park.
Various media images depict devastation and structural damage to buildings. One report indicates that the mud covered an area of 60,000 squarer meters some as much as six meters deep.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang ordered an immediate investigation of the mud slide.
According to a published report by Reuters, the impacted site should have been closed in February, but waste had continued to be dumped at this park. More than a year ago, a government-run newspaper warned that the city of Shenzhen would run out of space to dump waste from a building boom.
To what extent this tragic disaster has to certain industry supply chains remains to be seen in the coming days. The broader implication however, points to far more growing concerns relative to enforcement of industrial safety standards across China. We join the global community in concerns for the safety of those victims still missing.
This incident follows the massive warehouse explosions that occurred in the large logistics park adjacent to the Port of Tianjin. That impact from that disaster is still being felt by certain industry supply chains.
This incident is almost certain to have its own implications for a further government crackdown on industrial safety and risk mitigation.
