Demolition experts have blasted the remains of the central China
bridge that collapsed four days ago, killing at least 41 people, in
a bid to recover other possible victims, as new claims emerged
about the quality and speed of the construction.
They detonated explosives at 2:28 a.m. on Friday, demolishing
the three collapsed concrete piers, where more bodies are believed
to be buried.
Rescuers say the chances of anyone surviving in the debris are
minimal.
The huge piers were too heavy to be moved and had hindered the
search.
Before the explosion, experts and rescuers had searched the
rubble with detection equipment, but found no signs of life.
Dozens of trucks are carrying debris from the site while
soldiers and medical workers comb the site for victims.
Sun Xinlin, a rescue worker, said the smell of bodies was
apparent near the No.1 pier site and there might be victims under
it.
Injured worker Long Shaozhong said, "We had been worried about
the possible collapse of the bridge because it has a rather wide
span."
Lying in his hospital bed, Long said he and other workers had a
feeling that construction was proceeding too quickly, especially
when they dismantled all the scaffolding before the concrete had
completely dried.
By Thursday, 41 bodies had been retrieved from the debris of the
collapsed bridge. More bodies are expected to be found.
The wife of Zeng Xincai, a missing construction worker, and
other family members waited outside the site. She told Xinhua that
her husband and two other workers were crushed under the No.3 pier
according to rescued workers and they were waiting to see them.
The 328-meter-long, 42-meter-high bridge over the Tuojiang River
in Fenghuang County in western Hunan Province, collapsed on Monday
afternoon when an estimated 123 workers were dismantling steel
scaffolding.
Construction began in March 2004 and the bridge was scheduled to
open to traffic at the end of the month.
An investigation into the causes of the accident is still
underway.
(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2007)