3 injured, 27 missing after landslide hits buildings in Shenzhen

(Xinhua) Updated: 2015-12-20 15:58

A landslide hit an industrial park in Shenzhen city in South China's Guangdong province Sunday morning, crushing several buildings. Photo by Chai Hua/chinadaily.com.cn

Three people were injured and 27 remain missing after a landslide buried 22 residential and industrial buildings in an industrial park in south China Sunday.

A nearby section of the West-to-East natural gas pipeline exploded after the landslide struck the Hengtaiyu industrial park at around 11:40 a.m., causing more than 100,000 square meters of debris as of 7 p.m. The park is located in the Guangming New District in northwestern Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.

A video clip on microblog Sina Weibo shows powerful mud rocking the site with roaring sounds.

A resident living about four kilometers away from the site told Xinhua that he heard "a loud explosion" at around noon.

"It must be a big accident, as I could hear the sound from so far away."

An employee with the Liuxu Technology Co. in the park said power supply in the company suddenly went down at around noon.

"I saw red earth and mud running towards the company building," he said. "Fortunately, our building was not hit, and all people in our company were safely evacuated."

He said the landslide first crushed into a fish pond before burying buildings in the park, with water splashing up to three stories high.

"Without the pond's buffer, there would be more damage," he said.

A woman surnamed Hu told the local Shenzhen Evening News that she saw her father engulfed by earth in his own truck. The family make a living by recycling hardware waste.

"It's been hours after he was buried, and we are quite worried," Hu said.