Trieu Van Luc, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, made the statement at a regular press meeting on Tuesday.
Luc said that initial investigations into the deadly landslide in Bao Loc Pass showed that prolonged heavy rains and weak ground cover at the site were the main causes of the natural disaster.
"The Law on Forestry defines that this area should grow native trees that have strong roots and non-falling leaves," the official said. "However, local authorities felled protective forest trees and replaced them with durian. Someone should be held responsible for this."
Inspectors found 1,500 square metres of three-to-four-year-old durian trees on the hill behind the police station which was buried in the landslide in Bao Loc Pass.
Google Earth showed that the area behind the buried police station was a green zone with dense vegetation in 2019. The zone was destroyed and levelled from the hillside to the opposite side in 2021.
A serious landslide happened at a section of Bao Loc Pass, part of National Highway 20, in Lam Dong Province on July 30, burying a traffic police station with four people trapped inside. The bodies of three traffic police officers and one civilian have been found at the site.