Nine held in connection to collapsed Shanghai apartment building

The Beijing News
June 29, 2009

Yesterday’s front pages were largely devoted to a 13-storey riverbank apartment that tipped over in Shanghai on the morning of June 27, killing one worker inside.

The building remained in the news today: according to a report in The Beijing News, nine people, including the “developer, contractor, and quality supervisor,” have been detained in connection to the accident.

The 132 households living nearby returned to their homes yesterday after an examination ruled out the possibility that a similar accident would strike again. An investigation of cause of the collapse is under way, but explanations are only speculative at the moment.

Many people believe that inferior construction materials lead to the disaster, based on the photos showing snapped concrete piles that are hollow, with steel reinforcing bars that are thin and sparse.

Others speculate that the breakage of a river levee a few days prior to the accident could be the real culprit.

A third reason, pointed out by an industry insider quoted by The Beijing News, may be that a large quantity of soil excavated for the construction of an underground car park may have affected the balance of stresses surrounding the building. To make matters worse, the soil was piled up next to the building, and its weight may have destabilized the building.

In other news, the central government has authorized a plan initiated by the government of Macau Special Administrative Region to develop Hengqin Island. The first project of the plan involves a new campus for the University of Macau.

According to the agreement, the land, which currently falls under the administration of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, will be leased to Macau through December 19, 2049, renewable upon mutual agreement. Macau’s laws will apply within the campus.