Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    A ROCK and soil expert said rescue workers are facing an uphill battle searching for survivors of Shenzhen’s massive landslide that has left 85 people missing and buried or damaged 33 buildings as of yesterday evening.

    The number of missing people has been revised to 85 from the previously reported 91 after further checkups, said government authorities yesterday evening.

    “This landslide is the largest I’ve seen in my 30 years of experience,” Liu Guonan, a rock and soil scientist with the Chinese Academy of Railway Sciences, said at a news conference.

    “It is rare to see such a massive landslide on the outskirts of a city. It is the first in China. In Indonesia, there was a similar case in the 1990s,” said Liu.

    The landslide didn’t take place on a natural mountain, but on a huge pile of mud created by construction companies.

    The Ministry of Land and Natural Resources said the landslide happened after a hill of soil from construction sites collapsed. The pile was as tall as a 20-story building with slopes steep enough to make it unstable, the ministry said.

    Rescue workers detected signs of life yesterday, but after digging about 9 meters down they didn’t find anyone.

    “At such a depth, rescue workers are taking risks. The soil is soft and very wet, they could be easily trapped walking on it, let alone using machinery or vehicles,” said Liu.

    Rescuers are removing the mud layer by layer where they detect signs of life. They first dig 1 to 3 meters down, and if they confirm signs of life, a rescue team follows with a digging team.

    Yang Shengjun, head of the Shenzhen housing and construction bureau, said the area isn’t at risk of another landslide.

    The Hongao Waste Dumpsite is managed by the Shenzhen Luwei Property Management Co., which won several management contracts from the Bao’an government procurement center.

    He Weiming, a 36-year-old immigrant worker from Henan, said his parents, wife, two children, sister, three nieces and nephews were missing.

    He and his brother left to collect garbage Sunday morning, but returned at 11:40 a.m. to find their corrugated iron houses buried.

    “I called 40 mobile numbers and no one answered,” He was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying.

    (Special report on P3)

    Donations

    Citizens are encouraged to donate to help those affected through a Shenzhen Charity Foundation account: 4420-1002-1000-5963-0630

    Donors need to specify that the money is going to the Shenzhen Guangming landslide disaster.