Local governments blamed for sloppy supervision in tunnel collapse

By Lydia Chen  |   2008-11-19  |     ONLINE EDITION

CHINA’S top work safety supervisor criticized local governments for sloppy supervision as one of the reasons behind the collapse of a subway tunnel under construction in Hangzhou that left eight dead and 13 missing.

Initial probes into the November 15 accident revealed that contractors didn't follow safety guidelines while local government supervision was lax, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its Website today.

Potential work safety loopholes were not handled thoroughly or quickly while contractors did not offer safety training to workers and management at the site was chaotic, the administration added.

Investigators also found Shanghai Tongji Construction Supervision Co was the supervisor for the Xianghu Station section on Metro Line 1 in the provincial capital of Zhejiang. It was designed by Beijing Urban Construction and Design and contracted to China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group Co, a unit of China Railway Construction Group Co, the statement said.

But the statement didn’t name the companies as those responsible for the accident or how the government will punish offenders.

A 75-meter-long section of the subway tunnel collapsed at 3:20pm on Saturday, creating a huge crater in the road that trapped 11 vehicles.

The collapse on Fengqing Avenue, Xiaoshan District, trapped at least 50 workers. The vehicles have all been removed with no casualties to the drivers or passengers reported. A total of 24 workers were taken to hospital, where 13 remain.

Rescue operations are ongoing and the government will “proceed with follow-up work,'' the statement said.

Safety checks on construction projects will be stepped-up nationwide to root out potential hazards, the statement said.

On April 1, three workers were killed while another two were injured in a cave-in accident at a construction site on Metro Line 3 in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province.