Sixty-seven people are confirmed to have died and three others are injured after a platform holding workers building a power plant’s cooling tower collapsed in east China’s Jiangxi Province on 24 November.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have called on local authorities to spare no efforts in the rescue and treatment of survivors.
More than 60 people were working on the platform and another dozen were on the ground waiting to begin their shift at 7am when the platform collapsed in the city of Fengcheng, state news agency Xinhua reports.
The rescue effort involved more than 300 rescuers, two drones and seven cranes.
One worker, Wang Yaosheng, told Xinhua how he narrowly escaped death by running away when he saw the falling platform.
"Several elevators collapsed. All those on the platform fell and were crushed by the steel bars and other materials," he he said. "I was shocked."
The new cooling tower is part of a $1.1bn expansion plan of Fengcheng Power Plant, which is owned by state-owned Jiangxi Ganneng Co. Ltd.. Trading of its shares was suspended Thursday following the accident.
Xinhua reports that Hebei Yineng Tower Engineering Co. Ltd. is building the tower.
Liao Huishou, an engineer from the firm in charge of the project, told Xinhua that it is a complicated project because of its double-curve design.
"Time was very pressing and the construction was very difficult," said Liao.
Image: Rescuers search for survivors after the collapse of a platform at a cooling tower under construction in China on 24 November, 2016 (VCG/Getty Images)
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What a classic management excuse. Our thoughts go with the families of the injured and deceased.
Comment. Truly shocking, lets hope that lessons are learnt.
These accidents and killings are not new in the construction industry.The solution is construction professionals start auditing constructions at least Govt. constructions.Then there will be standards.These can evolve with the union of such auditors.