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 China
bridge collapse toll rises to 36
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[August 15, 2007]
BEIJING (AP) --
Chinese rescuers were forced to blast open chunks of rubble as they searched Wednesday for nearly two dozen people still missing after a bridge collapse killed at least 36 people.
Monday's collapse occurred as more than 100 construction workers were on the bridge dismantling scaffolding. The disaster in the southern tourist town of Fenghuang rekindled concerns about rushed, shoddy work amid China's torrid economic expansion.
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More than 1,500 People's Liberation Army soldiers and police were scouring the site for victims and in some cases used explosives to crack large pieces of cement and stone so they could search underneath, the Beijing Post newspaper reported. The bridge had been capped by four large stone arches.
Witnesses described hearing a rumble and seeing stones fall from the structure Monday afternoon after construction workers removed the supportive frame from the 140-foot-high, 880-foot-long vehicle and pedestrian bridge across the Tuo River.
The newspaper quoted survivor Hou Jiaping as saying the bridge "split apart like a piece of tofu cut by a knife." He blamed the collapse on a faulty design that lacked steel reinforcements.
"Between the time people heard a loud sound and the full collapse there was only one minute," Hou was quoted as saying. "If it was built using cement and steel, it wouldn't have collapsed so quickly."
Xinhua quoted an unnamed local official as saying planners had opted for a traditional stone design so that it would be "in harmony with the local natural environment."
Fenghuang -- an ancient trading town surrounded by lush mountains and rice paddies
-- has aggressively promoted itself as a tourist destination by preserving its old cobbled streets and riverside stilt homes.
Li Ping, a local government spokesman, said seven bodies were found early Wednesday and the official Xinhua News Agency said 23 people remained unaccounted for.
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 Xinhua reported that medical staff helping the rescuers said there was little chance of finding survivors under the massive pile of concrete and rock.
Rescuers managed to save 86 people, including 22 who were injured, Xinhua said.
The collapse also damaged local water pipes, cutting water supplies to 700,000 for two days but service was restored late Wednesday, Xinhua said.
Chinese State Councilor Hua Jianmian visited the collapsed bridge late Tuesday and urged construction sites all over the country to tighten safety management and check potential risks, Xinhua said.
Premier Wen Jiabao has called for a thorough investigation into the collapse, saying those responsible would be "severely dealt with."
Police detained two officials from the builder, the state-owned Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Co., Xinhua said.
[Associated Press; by Alexa Olesen]
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