Hospital’s surprise demolition jolts, injures patients, as holes punched in walls spark radiation scare — morgue buried in rubble

Morgue destroyed, equipment damaged and holes punched in walls in apparent dispute over road expansion project in Zhengzhou, Henan

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Hospital workers put up a banner saying 'We are saving lives while the forced demolition is trashing lives' after a building in a hospital was demolished in Zhengzhou in Henan province. Photo: EPA

Published: 11:09pm, 10 Jan 2016Updated: 9:51am, 11 Jan 2016

Police in Zhengzhou, Henan province, are investigating the partial demolition of a hospital that “almost burying” patients and doctors inside, media reported on the weekend.

More than 30 unidentified people tore down part of the No 4 Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University on Thursday morning, damaging nearly 4 million yuan (HK$4.7 million) of equipment and forcing the hospital to temporarily shut down.

Rubble trouble: debris spills into a room after bulldozers unexpectedly demolished part of a hospital involved in a land dispute and its adjoining morgue in central China, sending doctors, nurses and patients fleeing: six bodies in the morgue were buried, reports said Friday. Photo: AP

Liu Chunguang, director of the hospital’s radiology department, said he and his colleagues were examining patients when a huge hole was punched in the department’s wall, according to The Mirror.

“We thought it was an earthquake at first, but never guessed it was a forced demolition. When hospital workers took photos of vehicles belonging to the demolition crew, four or five of them dragged them to the car and grabbed their phones,” Liu said.

Hospital’s surprise demolition jolts, injures patients, as holes punched in walls spark radiation scare — morgue buried in rubble

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Morgue destroyed, equipment damaged and holes punched in walls in apparent dispute over road expansion project in Zhengzhou, Henan

READ MORE: Chinese farmer killed in house fire as workers demolish it during compulsory purchase row