Local authorities have begun an investigation into a local mine company after a dam at the mine collapsed, leaving dozens killed or missing in the floods and landslides triggered by Typhoon Fanapi.
Mr Tang Hao secretary general of the Guangdong provincial government said that "The investigation is under way. But one thing for sure is that the company to some degree should be held responsible for the disaster."
Sources with the Guangdong provincial government said that a dam at the Xinyi Yinyan Tin Mine owned by Fujian based Zijin Mining Group in Maoming city of Guangdong collapsed after being hit by a landslide leaving 28 people killed or missing.
A special team headed by Mr Zhu Mingguo deputy Party chief of Guangdong province arrived at the dam to conduct the investigation after many local villagers reported illegal practices of the Xinyi mine to the provincial government following the landslide.
Sources with Guangdong provincial environmental protection authorities said that an initial investigation showed that the Xinyi mine destroyed vegetation along the upper reaches of a local river during its operation in the past years. However, water discharged from the dam has been tested to have no harmful chemicals.
According to Hong Kong based Takungpao, several managers of the Xinyi mine have been held by police to provide assistance in the investigation. It is a human-made disaster rather than a natural one.
A local villager surnamed Mr Li said that the mine should be blamed for the disaster. Floods and landslides triggered by Typhoon Fanapi have so far claimed 75 lives in Guangdong province with some 61 still missing.
Typhoon Fanapi was the 11th and the strongest to hit the country so far this year, battering most of the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong provinces with heavy rains and strong winds last week.
Sources with the Guangdong provincial government said that some 128,000 people in Guangdong province had to be evacuated with 16,000 houses completely destroyed.
(Sourced from english.people.com.cn)
