Evacuated families allowed to return following building collapse

The 132 families evacuated after a neighbouring block of flats collapsed in Shanghai on Saturday were allowed to go home yesterday afternoon after investigators said their homes were safe.

Experts in construction, geology and hydrology said neither the 10 buildings being built near the collapsed block, nor other houses nearby had shown signs of slanting, moving or sinking after the accident, which they attributed to the movement of a large amount of dirt around the estate, China News Service reported yesterday.

However, two independent construction professionals who inspected all the buildings found at least three others under construction in the Lotus Riverside estate were leaning and could fall suddenly, the Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said in a press release yesterday.

A nearly completed 13-storey building collapsed on Saturday, killing one person. Nearby residents were evacuated and given hotel rooms on Saturday night.

A construction team worked at the site through Saturday night to prevent disasters that could be caused by the accident, an official told the Xinmin Evening News. The government said it had also launched safety checks on all construction projects in the city.

About 400 of the 489 homebuyers in the estate have filed requests to cancel their purchases and get their money back. Dozens of them went to Shanghai's petition office yesterday, calling for the government's help.