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Seven die in construction site accident

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-10 15:33

HANGZHOU: Seven workers were killed when a huge slurry pool at a construction site in Zhejiang Province collapsed Wednesday, rescuers said Thursday.

The pool on the site of a residential complex being built in Luqiao District of Taizhou City, containing slurries for construction, caved in at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, burying 10 workers.

The pool is about 50 meters in diameter and more than 10 meters deep.

Rescuers have retrieved seven bodies and sent three injured to hospital. Doctors said the injured were in stable condition.

One of the victims was a migrant worker from Sichuan Province in southwest China and the rest were natives of Taizhou, said the district's public security bureau.

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The apartment building, Happy Families, was expected to open for sales in February next year.

The complex is being developed by the Zhejiang Huangshi Xintiandi Real Estate Development Co. in a bustling commercial area.

Zhejiang Dingfeng Construction Co. Ltd. was the contractor for the project which will cover 15,000 square meters.

Construction of the project was called off Thursday pending investigations. Police are talking to construction company officials.

Workers were digging adjacent to the slurry pool when lack of supporting facilities and the weight of accumulated earth led to a collapse, according to a preliminary investigation by the Zhejiang Provincial Work Safety Supervision Administration.