'Negligence, Not Rain' Caused Deadly China Mudslide

The Chinese government launched an investigation today into the devastating mud and rock slide in Shanxi province, as the death toll rose to 56 and hopes faded for those buried.

State media initially blamed torrential rains for triggering the wall of sludge, which destroyed buildings around a mine in Xiangfen, Linfen city, on Monday. But senior officials subsequently said the disaster appeared to have been caused by the collapse of a waste reservoir at the Tashan iron ore mine.

"Our preliminary investigation found that this accident was caused by illegal enterprises that discharged waste sand into a mine tailings dam," said Wang Dexue, the deputy head of the state administration of work safety.

"When the dam reached its capacity, it burst. Heavy rain accelerated the process," he told state television.

Wei Guanghui, a migrant worker, told the China Daily newspaper: "It was terrible. The mud roared down the valley and washed away the market and houses in a few minutes."

Witnesses told the state news agency, Xinhua, that the slide was several meters high and destroyed houses, a market and a three-story office building in minutes.

An official at the propaganda department of Xiangfen county said: "There were survivors on the first day and on the second day, but from day three it's very likely that anyone we find in the future will be dead already."

Speaking from the site by telephone, she told the Associated Press news agency that more than 2,000 police, firefighters and villagers were searching.

State radio has said hundreds could be trapped beneath the thick layers of mud and debris, which flowed for up to two miles. Many of the victims are believed to be migrant workers from south-west China, making it harder to know exactly who was buried.

Hu Yanzai, the party secretary of a neighboring village, told Reuters: "It's hard to estimate how many died. It's all mud and we don't know how many escaped.

"I'd estimate at least 100 [dead]. It's a big area ... I don't know what to feel. I feel numb."

The People's Daily newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Communist party, said the state council - China's cabinet - had launched an investigation, and nine people, including the mine owner, had been detained.

Xinhua said several officials, including the local head of the work safety bureau, had been sacked.

Reuters reported that some relatives and friends kept away from the site by police have accused officials of cold-hearted incompetence.

"It's not because of the rain. It wasn't a natural disaster, it was manmade," said a worker named Zhang, who said his friend was probably dead.

"Whole families have gone. So many are dead. Why aren't you digging out our relatives?" a middle-aged woman, Zheng Xiongmei, screamed at an official.

China's mining industry is the world's deadliest, killing 3,800 people last year despite substantial safety improvements. Iron ore mines like Tashan have attracted less attention than coal mines because they are usually open cast, so less likely to collapse.

Shanxi this spring began a three-year campaign to lower hazards from mines and mining waste, according to local media. Officials said 676 villages were threatened by subsidence, building damage and other geological hazards.