China Bridge Collapse Kills 29

[helderheid]

By ALEXA OLESEN 08.14.07, 1:33 PM ET

BEIJING -

The collapse of a bridge under construction that left at least 29 people dead in a Chinese tourist town rekindled concerns Tuesday about rushed, shoddy building amid the country's economic expansion.

Witnesses heard a rumble and saw stones fall from the structure Monday afternoon after construction workers removed scaffolding from the 140-foot-high, 880-foot-long vehicle and pedestrian bridge across the Tuo River in the southern town of Fenghuang.

"The whole thing collapsed," said Nong Xiaozhong, one of two survivors in a 12-man construction team working under the bridge.

"There was no time to warn the other workers and I just managed to run a few steps before I was covered under the stones," Nong said in a telephone interview from the Fenghuang Chinese Medicine Hospital where he was being treated for pain in his abdomen. "I crawled to the road nearby and an ambulance came in 10 minutes. I was rescued."

The accident came less than two weeks after the collapse of a bridge in Minnesota that drew attention to aging transport infrastructure in the United States. Nine people were confirmed dead in that collapse, and divers are still seeking the bodies of four missing motorists presumed killed.

MORE >>

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/14/ap4018597.html

[Hell Hath No Fury]

1. I heard that 65 were still missing...

:(

With this type of rapid expansion that China is seeing, and deep corruption and little oversite, I will be surprised if we don't see more incidents like this.

I hope the casualty numbers don't rise.