A landslide in the southern city of Shenzen has left one person dead and more than 70 people remained missing. A few days after the tragedy happened, the former head of the City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau for Shenzhen's Guangming New District apparently committed suicide by jumping off an apartment block.

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According to police, Xu Yuan'an is the person who approved the landfill site that collapsed on Sunday, Dec. 20. The landslide swallowed more than 30 buildings at an industrial park in the city. This is considered one of the biggest industrial centres in China. An official investigation into the incident is still underway.

According to BBC News, this is the third recorded case in China where an officials commits suicide after some industrial fiasco. Shenzhen police have already taken legal actions against 12 people involved in the landslide - including representatives of the company that owned the site.

According to authorities, the landslide was caused by a huge man-made hill of soil and construction debris, which lost stability and collapsed. This is just one of the many industrial fiascos that happened this year in China.

In a separate incident, the owner of a mine also committed suicide after a rock fell on a shaft, trapping miners this past Friday. Ma Congbo, the chairman of Yurong company, which owned the mine, reportedly drowned himself by jumping into a mine well earlier on Sunday.

The government has issued a warning to those responsible of these industrial disasters to be "seriously punished in accordance with the law."

Earlier this year, another official fell to his death following the massive chemical explosion that killed 173 people.

Questions have been raised regarding the safety standards of the country in light of its rapid industrialisation.

However, the reason why these officials committed suicide following these accidents is still unclear. It is speculated that they chose to rather end their own lives than face lifetime imprisonment.

TagsChina Landslide Update, Shenzen, Shenzen landslide