Wall collapse kills eight at NW China construction site

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-19 23:06

XINING - Rescuers recovered the bodies Thursday of all eight construction workers buried in the debris of a collapsed wall here in the capital of northwest China's Qinghai Province, the deputy mayor said.

Part of a cement wall, erected to cordon off a construction site on a busy downtown commercial street, collapsed at about 1:35 p.m. Thursday, burying eight workers. The last body was retrieved at 6:10 p.m..

All the victims were migrant workers aged 20 to 50 from Henan Province in central China, Zhang Xiaorong, deputy mayor of Xining, said at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

Residents in two adjacent buildings had to be evacuated.

The collapsed wall was about 20 meters long and 10 meters tall.

Workers began to lay the groundwork for a real estate project at the site last September. The project, which was undertaken by Qinghai Jiahao Real Estate Development Co. Ltd., was a key part of a face-lift to turn Shangyexiang Street into a modern pedestrian mall.

Zhejiang Haina Construction Project Co. Ltd. was the subcontractor for the groundwork part of the project, which the wall had blocked off.

An initial investigation showed the contractor had started work before obtaining licenses, Zhang said. The damp spring earth might have contributed to the collapse, Zhang said.

The investigation would proceed, as would discussion of compensation for the victims' families, according to Zhang.

The Xining construction administration will start safety inspections of all projects under construction by Friday.