SHENZHEN, China — As the mountain of debris grew, so did the warnings.

The construction dump on the outskirts of Shenzhen was prone to dangerous erosion, an environmental impact report said. The expanding piles of waste presented a “crisis,’’ a Shenzhen newspaper wrote. Even truck drivers who dumped tons of debris and displaced earth there each day recalled a pang of anxiety as they watched the pile swell.

But the alarms got little attention until the accumulation of building waste collapsed here, burying homes and factories, and forcing Chinese officials, investigators, journalists and families waiting for news of the 76 still missing to ask: If so many saw the risks, why was nothing done?

“Everyone seems to have some of the responsibility,’’ said Liang Jianping, a worker in Shenzhen who was hoping for word of his missing cousin, a worker in a factory near where the disaster struck Sunday.

“The officials, the companies, the truck drivers, they were all here, they saw what was happening,’’ Liang said.

Early Wednesday, rescuers announced they had taken a survivor from the dense red earth and mud that swamped an area equivalent to more than 70 football fields.

But the searchers have also found two bodies. More are likely to be recovered in the coming days, and officials in Shenzhen appeared prepared to blunt public ire by moving against the company that operated the dumpsite. A Chinese news report said a deputy general manager had been taken away by police.

But survivors, families of the missing, and even China’s usually shackled news media appeared to demand more this time. Some said there had to be a deeper reckoning with the hazards created by China’s once breathless sprint for prosperity.

New York Times