FENGHUANG, Hunan, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The new bridge
which collapsed four days ago was blown up early Friday morning in a desperate
effort to find out more victims as chances of finding survivors are slim.
Experts detonated explosives at 2:28 a.m. Friday,
demolishing the three collapsed concrete piers, where more bodies are believed
to be buried.
The huge piers of the bridge had been too heavy to be
easily moved and baffled the searching operation.
Before the explosion, experts and rescuers had
searched through the site of the collapse via detectors, finding no signs of
lives beneath the huge piles of rubbles.
Dozens of trucks are busying clearing up the site
while soldiers and medical workers are struggling to comb for the remnant of
victims.
More bodies are expected to be found, but no new
findings have been reported so far.
By Thursday, 41 bodies had been retrieved from the
debris of the collapsed bridge.
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.
"We had been worried about the possible collapse of
the bridge because it has a rather wide span," said Long Shaozhong, a worker
injured in the accident.
Long, lying on the bed of a hospital, said he and
other workers always have a feeling that the construction was proceeding fast,
especially when they dismantled all the scaffolding before the concrete turns
completely dry.
Investigation into the causes of the accident is
still underway.
President Hu orders utmost efforts in
searching for missing persons in bridge collapse
FENGHUANG, Hunan Province, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese
President Hu Jintao Wednesday ordered utmost efforts in the search for those
missing and treatment of those injured in the deadly bridge collapse in central
China's Hunan Province.
Hu, who is in Kyrgyzstan capital Bishkek on an official
visit, urged authorities to immediately set up a panel to investigate into the
cause of the accident and bring those responsible to book. Full story
Death toll rises to 41 from central
China bridge collapse
 |
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A view of the collapsed bridge in
Fenghuang County, Central China's Hunan Province, Aug. 13, 2007.
(China Foto Press)
|
FENGHUANG, Hunan, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from
the bridge collapse in central China's Hunan Province rose to 41 on Thursday as
rescuers prepared to blast the rubble to make it easier to clear.
Up to 80 holes are to be dug in the collapsed piers for
explosives. Full story
Bridge collapses in central China,
killing five people
CHANGSHA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- At least five people died
when a bridge collapsed in central China's Hunan Province on Monday.
The bridge, which was under construction in Fenghuang
county, collapsed at 4:40 p.m., blocking the Fenghuang-Daxing highway, an
official with the provincial government said. Full story
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