Kunming Airport overpass collapses

• Source: Global Times
• [04:56 January 05 2010]
• Comments

Rescuers and an excavator gather at the collapsed bridge, preparing for the rescue operation early Wednesday, December 10, 2008. (Photo/Xinhua)

By Song Shengxia

Authorities are investigating the causes of the collapse of an overpass under construction as part of a new airport in Kunming, Yunnan Province, which killed seven people and injured another 34 on Sunday.

The accident occurred at 2:30 pm when more than 40 workers were working on the bridge, the Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.

Six died at the scene of the accident, eight people were seriously injured and 26 others suffered minor injuries, the local emergency center said.

The casualties were sent to three local hospitals.

A medical worker surnamed Zhang at the People's Hospital of Kunming Economic and Technological Development Zone, which received the largest number of casualties, told the Global Times Monday that one patient died Sunday on way to hospital and the other 20 were receiving treatment.

An official surnamed Lu at the Secretariat of the Yunnan Provincial People's Government told the Global Times Monday that the collapse of the unstable support system for the bridge caused the accident but did not specify the root cause.

Speculation on the cause to the accident was profuse, with some questioning quality loopholes in construction or expedited construction and others believing the bad weather was to blame.

However, Huang Zhibin, director of the quality and safety supervision department of Yunnan Construction Engineering Group, denied that expedited construction was the cause.

"There was no sign of the overpass collapsing on the day of the accident," he told the Yunnan Information Daily Monday.