Summary of structural rebar collapse accidents in recent years

Collapse of rebar framework at construction site in Anqing, Anhui kills 3 people October 25, 2012 07:22 Source: Zhongan Online Interact (0) 0 At 7:30 a.m. yesterday, an accident occurred at the construction site for the underground passages and pipe culverts under Phase 2 of the project on Zheshan Road in Anqing City, resulting in 3 workers being crushed. At around 10 a.m., the 3 injured persons died despite efforts to save them at the hospital. 　　According to preliminary investigations, the project was under the responsibility of the Anqing Key Project Construction Bureau, with Suzhou Xiongzhi Municipal Engineering Co., Ltd. being the actual contractor. At the time of the incident, 3 workers were tying rebar to the rebar framework in an underground passage; when the framework suddenly collapsed, the 3 workers were unable to avoid being crushed. Upon receiving the report, the Anqing Fire Brigade rushed to the scene immediately to carry out rescue operations, while the Anqing 110 Emergency Center transported the three people to three hospitals in the city area. 　　Upon receiving the report, Anqing City ** immediately activated its emergency response plan. The city’s top leaders and those in charge gave instructions to make every effort to handle the aftermath of the accident, determine its causes, and to learn from this incident by carrying out thorough inspections and rectifications of safety hazards in the construction sector. (Anhui Business News, Qiao Jian)

At around 16:17 on March 21, 2019, the rebar cage of Beam No. 2 for the runways and taxiways project at the Shuangliu International Airport Traffic Center collapsed in the direction of the cross bridge during construction, resulting in the death of 4 workers and injuries to 13 others, with direct economic losses exceeding 8 million yuan.

　　On December 29, 2014, at the construction site of the gymnasium and dormitory buildings affiliated with Tsinghua University in Haidian District, Beijing, workers were binding rebar inside a foundation pit when the rebar framework of the raft foundation collapsed, resulting in 10 deaths and 4 injuries. Following the incident, Beijing **established an investigation team for the serious production safety accident on December 19. 　　After nearly a year of investigation, the report was finally released. According to the report, the gymnasium and dormitory building project affiliated with Tsinghua University High School has a total construction area of 20,660 square meters; it is a comprehensive building that combines sports facilities, accommodation, a restaurant, and a garage ； The building has five floors above ground and two floors below ground. Tsinghua University is the project owner, while Beijing Jiangong Yijian Engineering Construction Co., Ltd. is the general contractor. 　　According to the on-site inspection, the incident site is located in Section 3 of the foundation pit, with a depth of approximately 13 meters, a width of approximately 42.2 meters, and a length of approximately 58.3 meters. Before the incident, the pouring of the raft foundation for sections 1 and 2 on the south side of the foundation pit had been completed, along with the binding of rebar for section 3 and the installation of stirrups ； Most of the stirrup beams and the upper reinforcement mesh on the foundation slab are not fixed ； A few of the stirrups at the horse shoe supports and the rebar mesh in the lower layer of the foundation slab were not secured ； There are multiple instances of rebar materials piled up on the upper rebar mesh. At the time of the incident, the upper rebar shifted entirely to the east side and collapsed, covering an area of over 2,000 square meters. 　　The investigation team believes that the failure to stack materials as required and to construct support braces, as well as the fact that no proper structural system was established between the braces and the rebar, led to the complete collapse of the rebar in the foundation slab – and this was the direct cause of the accident. 　　According to the investigation, during construction, the provisions of Section 7.7 of the Reinforcement Construction Plan were violated; entire bundles of reinforcement materials were placed directly on the upper layer of reinforcement mesh. There was an excessive amount of material at the construction site, with it being concentrated in certain areas, which led to instability of the stirrups. As a result, the welds at the upper and lower ends of these stirrups broke ； The diameter of the rebar used for the on-site fabricated shims has been reduced from 32 mm as specified in the Reinforcement Construction Plan to 25 mm or 28 mm, and the spacing between these shims is too large, not meeting the 1 m requirement set out in the Reinforcement Construction Plan. 　　In addition, poor management at the construction site, the absence of the designated project manager for extended periods, insufficient staffing for safety officers, chaotic operational management, and inadequate supervision were indirect causes of the accident. 　　The investigation team determined that the accident was a serious liability accident in production safety. It is recommended that criminal liability be pursued against 16 persons, including Liu Chuan, the general manager of Jian Gong Yi Jian Company ； It is recommended that Party and administrative sanctions be imposed on 14 individuals, including Dai Binbin, the chairman of Beijing Construction Engineering Group ； It is recommended that administrative penalties be imposed on Guo Xiangdong, the legal representative of Jian Gong Yi Jian Company, and other individuals or entities. 　　The Beijing Work Safety Supervision Bureau stated that it is necessary to draw serious lessons from these accidents, strengthen management and supervision at construction sites, crack down on situations where project managers fail to carry out their duties, as well as on practices by construction units that involve cutting short project timelines or reducing costs arbitrarily. It also emphasized the need to suppress activities such as lending out qualifications and illegal subcontracting. (End)

At around 5 p.m. on the 17th, a collapse of a rebar framework occurred at the Tunnel Project for Line 4 located in Jiangwangmiao, Xuanwu District, Nanjing, resulting in 4 deaths and 3 injuries. Reporters learned yesterday that the construction site in Nanjing has been shut down. According to witnesses, 12 workers were at work underground tying rebar together at the time, but the rebar framework collapsed suddenly, injuring 7 workers who were taken to the military hospital for emergency treatment. A worker at the tunnel construction site said: The rebar collapsed completely, and people were trapped underneath; there were only internal injuries, no external ones. It is understood that this construction area is located 18 meters underground, and the work is carried out in shifts during the day and at night; the collapse occurred as soon as the night shift workers went down there. A worker said that all 7 people taken to the hospital were from Shanxi. Yesterday, reporters learned of the latest developments: as of that day, 4 workers died despite efforts to save them. Construction work at a site in Nanjing was halted. According to the latest reports, at 17:20 on the 17th, an accident occurred on the section of Nanjing Line 4 between Jiangwangmiao and Wangjiawan. This section was constructed using the tunneling method, and while workers were working underground to arrange rebar, the rebar framework collapsed. The Nanjing Rail Transit Construction Project Quality and Safety Supervision Station stated that this was a serious accident resulting from negligence in safety protocols. Four workers died despite medical efforts, while three others were injured and are still under treatment. Previously, an accident occurred at the construction site of Nanjing Line 3, which led to a suspension of work in the city for rectification; this shows that the rectifications were not thorough enough. The Nanjing Rail Transit Project Quality and Safety Supervision Station has ordered that all ongoing construction projects in Nanjing be halted, including those related to Line 3, Line 4, and the Ninggao Phase II project. Safety hazards must be identified and addressed before work can resume. This comprehensive suspension of work for rectification may affect the project timeline.

**Early Warning Information Release 2017-04-20 · **Official Account of the Early Warning Information Release Center. At 14:42 on April 19, during construction at site 8133 of the first phase of Shenzhen Metro Line 8 – specifically the construction site for Wangji Lake parking lot and related access lines – a steel framework collapsed, resulting in 1 death and 3 injuries.