Cadre arrested over fatal bridge collapse

A local deputy party secretary has been held over the collapse of the Rainbow Bridge in Chongqing which claimed at least 40 lives, including 18 armed police officers.

The detention of Lin Shiyuan, deputy secretary of Qi County, came as authorities uncovered more shoddy construction, Xinhua reported yesterday.

Lin was held on suspicion of taking bribes, dereliction of duty and trying to destroy criminal evidence, the news agency quoted a local official as saying.

Lin allegedly accepted 100,000 yuan (HK$93,000) from the bridge's contractor, a former classmate.

The bridge, built two years ago, collapsed on January 4, plunging 23 police officers jogging on the bridge and an unknown number of civilians into the chilly Qijiang River. The contractor and three other people were arrested.

According to Xinhua, preliminary inspections found another bridge built by the same contractor, a square and an underground shopping mall in front of the county government office and the Tuowan Bridge, which has been in use since 1995, were also below standard.