Weakened wall brought down building on Zhaohua Road: report

The Shanghai Emergency Management Bureau released the results of its investigation into a building collapse on Zhaohua Road in Changning District, which killed 12 workers on May 16.

According to the bureau's report, the collapse was due to weakened load-bearing capacity of the main wall of the factory building, which was undergoing renovation at the time of the incident. The renovation made the wall even more vulnerable, but no protection or reinforcement measures were taken. The collapsed wall brought down the entire building, turning everything into rubble, the bureau said on Tuesday.

The report also noted that workers were living in the area under renovation, which was the main reason why the incident killed and injured so many.

The factory building was constructed in 1963, according to the bureau, and the property rights belonged to Shanghai Automobile Import and Export Co, a subsidiary of SAIC Motor. The company rented the building to Shanghai Chenhan Business Management Co, which was in charge of the renovation.

Chenhan entrusted the work to Nantong Longyao Construction Engineering Co, which was not certified to carry out renovations. According to the bureau’s report, Chenhan was aware of this issue.

Around 11:10am on May 16, the southeast corner of the building collapsed. Soon the whole building went down, leaving 16 people buried under debris.

A total of 300 firefighters rushed to the scene within minutes.

By 1:45am the next day rescue work had wrapped up, as all 25 people trapped under the debris were found. In total, 12 people died in the incident and 10 were seriously injured.

In December last year, local construction authorities visited the factory site on Zhaohua Road following complaints that renovation work was kicking up large quantities of dust. Authorities ordered a halt on renovations until required certification could be obtained by Chenhan, yet the company was not penalized, according to the bureau's report.

Later in March, April and May, the authority again ordered the site to halt construction, but work carried on.

The bureau recommends that eight individuals involved in the incident be transferred to judicial authorities for handling, including the owners of Chenhan and Nantong Longyao, and persons in charge of the renovation site.

Chenhan, Nantong Longyao and Shanghai Automobile Asset Management Co, a subsidiary of SAIC Motor which managed the building, should each face fines of 2.3 million yuan (US$324,859), the report added.

Meanwhile, the bureau said that the construction authority of Changning also neglected its duties.