The State Council investigation team on Friday affirmed that the recent Shenzhen landslide that left dozens of people missing was a result of work safety accident and not a geological or natural disaster. The team further stated that the disaster, which toppled 33 buildings, was the result of a collapse of a pile of mud and construction residue and not from a natural circumstance.

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"This was not a natural geological disaster, but an industrial safety accident," investigators stated, according to Xinhua news agency.

The government has since vowed to punish those responsible for the accident. "The investigation will start immediately. Those responsible for the incident will be seriously punished in accordance with laws and regulations," a statement said .

Following the announcement, Shenzhen Party secretary Ma Xingrui and other city officials on behalf of the Shenzhen government and the city apologized publicly in a broadcasted news conference. Phoenix Television, a satellite service in Hong Kong, reported that Mr. Ma in his remorse speech stated that the government of Shenzhen "expresses its condolences for all the victims, and offers sincere apologies to the families of the victims and the missing, to those who were injured and other members of the public who have suffered." 

He further committed to help in the investigation process adding that the Shenzhen city leadership "will assume whatever responsibility should be assumed, accept whatever punishment is due, and punish whoever should be punished."

Friday's count still has 75 people missing. On Thursday, a local news outlet reported that rescue teams have found seven bodies but the identities of the deceased are yet to be confirmed. So far, only one survivor has been pulled out from a building of mud and piled construction waste.

Meanwhile, three other locations in the same city are said to pose a risk of landslide, according to the Shenzhen Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau Yang Shenjun. Three professionals have reportedly been sent to assess and check the situation.

Tagslandslide, man-made disaster, Ma Xingrui