Chinese owner drowns after mine tragedy

Quoting a morning briefing by the rescue command center, state media said Ma Congbo, president of Yurong Commerce and Trade Ltd. Co., was assisting with rescue efforts on Sunday morning when he jumped into a mine well and drowned. Since the mine collapse on Friday, rescuers have pulled 11 workers to safety and recovered one body. Another 17 miners are yet to be found. 

Reality check 

On Sunday, state media said China’s southern province of Guangdong, one of the country’s biggest industrial bases, will check all construction waste sites in the wake of a deadly landslide to ensure none are in dangerous locations or poorly managed. Sites found operating in “forbidden zones” such as close to hospitals, residential areas, schools and rail lines will need to be moved immediately, with cities responsible for moving them, Xinhua added. Those found responsible for illegal or poorly managed sites will be prosecuted, it said. 

The December 20 landslide in Guangdong’s Shenzhen buried more than 30 buildings in an industrial park and left around 70 people missing. The central government on Friday labelled the landslide a man-made disaster, and is looking at whether criminal malpractice is to blame.