【聚焦】上海十三层高楼缘何瞬间倒塌
Investigators say a huge amount of dirt dumped near a high-rise construction site led to the building's collapse Saturday. Nine people who work for the property developer or contractors have been detained.
Investigators haven't found any flaws in the building's construction materials, after sampling concrete and reinforced steel bars.
Instead, they are focusing on the huge amount of earth that was dumped between the building and a creek just 30 meters away. A 70 meter-long section of the creek's flood wall cracked on Friday, just one day before the building's collapse.
Zhou Minyong, worker of Shanghai Construction Group, said, "The earth was removed from beneath the building to make way for an underground garage about 5 meters deep. Now we have refilled the pit with over 5000 cubic meters of soil."
The investigation continues. The city's construction management office has also ordered a citywide check-up on all projects underway. Inspections began yesterday.
Investigators say the developer of the collapsed building, Shanghai's Meidu Real Estate company, only has 8 million yuan in registered capital. It is listed as a third-class developer among the city's four classes. Nearly 80% of the 630 apartments in the building and nearby high-rises have been sold. Sales of the remaining apartments have now been suspended. So far, at least 400 buyers have demanded their money back.
Investigators have nine people in custody and have frozen bank accounts belonging to the developer and several construction companies. Authorities say they will protect buyers, and will announce detailed plans to help them once a final quality test is conducted on the building.
The 13-story building toppled almost intact from its base around 5:40 am Saturday. One construction worker from Anhui Province was killed. More than 130 families living nearby were temporarily removed from their apartments, but they are now back home.
