China blames lax oversight for deadly landslide
BEIJING, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Chinese authorities have blamed lax supervision over construction and engineering for a landslide near the massive Three Gorges Dam last month that killed 35, state media reported on Wednesday.
Faulty procedures blasting rock at the railway tunnel construction site were the direct cause of the disaster, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement released jointly by the Ministry of Railways and the State Administration of Work Safety.
"Although the causes of the accident were complicated, the accident revealed management negligence and loose control over engineering and construction ... " the statement said.
Most of the victims were travelling on a long-distance bus that was buried under an avalanche of boulders, earth and mud at the entrance to the railway tunnel in Badong county in the central province of Hubei.
While officials have not linked the landslide, which happened near a tributary of the 660-km (410-mile) Three Gorges Dam reservoir, to the project, the deaths came amid growing fears about land hazards around the rising dam.
Residents in the Badong area have expressed concern about what they say has been an increase in landslides and tremors since the dam's water level rose last year, putting pressure on steep slopes in places such as Badong. (Reporting by Lindsay Beck; editing by Roger Crabb)
