2008 Shanxi mudslide

The 2008 Shanxi mudslide was caused by the collapse of an unlicensed mine landfill in Xiangfen county, Linfen, Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China and killed at least 267 people and injured 34. Around 8:00 a.m. on September 8, 2008, the retaining wall of a waste iron ore reservoir collapsed after torrential rain, causing a major mudslide which inundated a village and crowded marketplace. The unlicensed Tashan Mine was operated by the Tashan Mining Company. The reservoir was supposedly decommissioned a few years later, but its new owner, Zhang Peiliang, put it back into use when he took over the company in 2005. In 2006, the Tashan Mining Company did not renew its safety production license, and in 2007, the mining license of Zhang also expired.

Damages and casualties

The entire village of Yunhe was inundated by the mudslide, including an outdoor market crowded with customers. Some 268,000 cubic meters of mudslide sludge flooded over an area of 30.2 hectares in the disaster, and the mud was up to six meters deep in some parts. Up to 500 people may still be buried, according to the Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.

Rescue efforts

5,300 police and , using more than 110 excavators, were looking for survivors. The rescuers covered about 90% of the mudslide zone so far. In addition, 2,100 medical workers were at the site to provide medical care. The State Administration of Work Safety said that an investigation is pending, and that the people responsible will be "punished in line with the relevant laws." Meng Xuenong, of Shanxi, resigned a day after the event, on September 14.