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Nine investigated over Shanghai building collapse: official
Shanghai (AFP) June 29, 2009 Shanghai authorities were investigating nine people after a nearly completed 13-storey apartment building toppled over almost intact, killing one worker, an official said Monday. The building collapse Saturday highlighted the poor quality of Chinese construction standards just as Shanghai undergoes a massive building boom in preparation for next year's World Expo. Those under investigation include people working for the construction contractor and the developer, a district government spokeswoman told AFP. The nine people were put "under control," meaning they faced restrictions on their movements, but were not being held by police, she said. Shanghai authorities ordered an urgent review of all construction projects in the city following the accident. The fact that it occurred in one of China's most advanced cities has triggered concerns about construction standards nationwide. "Public anger can only increase in the wake of such shoddy construction projects being exposed for the risks they involve to potential owners and occupants, workers and passers-by," the official China Daily wrote in an editorial Monday. The Shanghai government had also taken control of a bank account belonging to the project's developer, Shanghai Meidu Real Estate Company, the spokeswoman said. The company had been operating illegally since its licence expired in 2004, the China Daily reported. A 28-year-old migrant worker who entered the building to retrieve his tools was killed when the building fell early Saturday morning. Shanghai's Communist Party chief Yu Zhengsheng and Mayor Han Zheng vowed to punish severely anyone found to be responsible. More than 400 angry people who had bought apartments in the project have demanded refunds, the Shanghai Daily reported. Investigators should also probe whether the incident was a case of corruption involving officials and businessmen, the China Daily editorial said. "It is no secret that the construction industry is one of the most corrupt," it said. Anger over alleged corruption boiled over after last year's earthquake in southwestern China caused 7,000 schools to collapse. Relatives of dead children later accused officials of graft leading to shoddy construction. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Three killed, 60 injured in China train collision: officialBeijing (AFP) June 29, 2009 At least three people were killed and over 60 injured when two passenger trains collided early Monday in central China, a local government official said. The accident happened at 2:34 am (1834 GMT Sunday) at the railway station in Chenzhou city, Hunan province, an official at the provincial work safety bureau, who refused to be named, told AFP. Seven carriages were derailed in the ... read more |
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