A dozen Chinese government officials have been charged over the collapse of a construction-debris hill that engulfed homes and factories in the city of Shenzhen killing 69 people and leaving eight others missing.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate, which acts as the nation’s prosecutor, announced the charges on Monday, according to the state-run news agency Xinhua.
The Dec. 20 incident elicited outrage from locals who called for an investigation into municipal officials who may have violated regulations that would have prevented the disaster.
On Jan. 9, 16 people who either owned or operated the dump site were handed charges relating to its collapse, which authorities labeled a man-made disaster.
The dozen now face charges of “abuse of authority” and “dereliction of duty.”
Nonetheless, those targeted are relatively low-level officials. This commonly happens in China when obvious cases of government misconduct arise.
The announcement comes after survivors and even Chinese media outlets called for a wider investigation into how regulations were violated in the wake of the tragedy.
The collapse of the landfill occurred when heavy rains pounded the Guangming New District on the outskirts of the southern city of Shenzhen.
Warning signs, however, were imminent before the landslide. Some truck drivers who dumped debris into the landfill even reported becoming concerned over its growing size..
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