China arrests 11 for Shenzhen landslide, death toll reaches 12

Authorities in southern China have arrested 11 people for their role in a landslide unleashed at a construction waste dump last month that killed 12 people and left 62 others missing and presumed dead.

The arrests were made in the southern city of Shenzhen, with Chinese prosecutors blaming breaches of construction safety rules for the tragedy last month.

On December 20, heavy rains caused a construction waste dump piled up against a hill to collapse.

The landslide, which hit the Hengtaiyu Industrial Park in Shenzhen, buried 33 buildings, including three dormitories. Some 62 people are still missing and presumed dead, according to reports.

Chinese authorities said last week the landslide was an industrial accident and not a geological disaster.

Among the detainees are a legal representative and a deputy general manager of Shenzhen Yixianglong Investment Development, the company running the landfill, and other officials in charge of supervising it.