Bridge Under Construction Collapses in China
Authorities have confirmed the collapse of a bridge under construction in central China, resulting in at least 22 fatalities. The fatal incident occurred on Monday 13th August 2007 in the county of Fenghuang, which is located in the province of Hunan.
According to reports, the construction of the bridge was nearly complete when the collapse occurred, and it was due to open at the end of August. An investigation into exactly what the collapse can be attributed to has now begun.
Spanning 332 metres (or 1,049 feet), the purpose of the bridge was to cross the Jiantuo River, proving a link between Fenghuang county and Guizhou Airport.
Fenghuang itself is a popular tourist destination.
According to one reporter, it is thought that at least 100 construction workers were on the bridge at the time of the collapse. The work taking place at the time of the collapse involved the removal of the structure’s scaffolding supports. A minimum of 22 workers are believed to have died, while approximately 46 people remain unaccountable.
Local media sources have stated that the majority of those employed on the bridge hailed from local farms, and had been drafted in specially.
News Agency Xinhua provided one eyewitness report, given by a lady known only as ‘Wu’. "I was riding a bike with my husband and we had just passed under the bridge and were about 50 meters (160 feet) away when it collapsed", she said, adding: "There was a huge amount of dust that came up and didn't clear for about 10 minutes."
According to Xinhua, the value of the bridge construction project was $1.6 million. The Chinese media also provided details of the project’s contractor – Hunan Road and Bridge Construction (Group) Ltd. Co – which is owned by the State.
While the investigation is underway, it is known that a common trait among contractors to plump for low priced and poor quality materials has led to a high level of accidents within China’s construction industry. A further factor is the practice of employing migrant labourers who are not skilled in construction.
In 2006, the Ministry of Communications issued a report on road safety, in which it highlighted no less than 6,300 bridges in China as potentially dangerous, due to significant damage to their “structural components”. This was reported yesterday by the China Daily newspaper, which also provided a number of quotes from the Secretary General of the Institute of Bridge and Structural Engineering, Xiao Rucheng.
Xiao, the paper said, had previously described how a large number of new bridges in China were poorly conceived and were being hurriedly constructed. He added to this how China ought to "learn a lesson from the Mississippi bridge and accelerate the inspection of unsafe bridges” (referring to the August 1st incident in Minneapolis, US).
The search for more survivors from this tragedy continues, the rescue force including a 400-strong contingent of troops.
Source – Construction International’s Far East Correspondent
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