In Pictures: When the mud came crashing down

Thousands of rescuers are searching for more than 80 people missing since a massive landslide hit an industrial park in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen on Dec 20. The landslide is believed to be caused by the illegal dumping of mud and construction waste at a disused quarry nearby. Just four months ago, more than 160 people were killed in big chemical blasts in the northern port city of Tianjin.

Updated

Published

Dec 22, 2015, 07:00 PM

Aerial photograph taken on Dec 21, 2015, showing the scale of destruction caused by the landslide. The landslide covered an area of 380,000 sq m - or about 50 football fields - with silt 10m deep. PHOTO: AFP

An aerial view showing excavators clearing debris on Dec 22, 2015, from the disaster site. PHOTO: EPA

Rescue workers searching for survivors on Dec 22, 2015, among the debris of destroyed buildings. More than 30 buildings were buried in the country's latest industrial disaster. PHOTO: REUTERS

Rescue workers walking past a damaged vehicle on Dec 22, 2015, in the Hengtaiyu industrial park. PHOTO: REUTERS

Firefighters using flashlights to search for survivors on Dec 20, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS

A pair of shoes and other belongings are seen near a damaged building in this photo taken on Dec 20, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS

An evacuee's trousers and shoes, dirty with mud, are seen in this photo taken on Dec 22, 2015, as he takes a rest in a shelter set up at a gymnasium. PHOTO: REUTERS

An exhausted rescue worker taking a break as he sits among mud and rubble a day after the landslide engulfed buildings in Shenzhen. PHOTO: EPA

Mr Ma Xingrui (front row, 3rd from right), municipal party secretary of Shenzhen, and other officials at the disaster site on Dec 21, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS

Mr Liu Qingsheng, vice-mayor of Shenzhen, and Mr Yang Shengjun, head of residential housing bureau of Shenzhen, bowing as they apologise at a news conference on Dec 22, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS

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