Man secretly digs out two-storey cellar under Beijing street
Illegal basement had to be filled with cement in case the ground caved in, according to newspaper report
Building workers had to take emergency measures and pour cement into a two-storey basement illegally dug out next to a residential block in Beijing in case the ground gave way, according to a newspaper report.
The work came to light after officials were carrying out inspections as part of a massive crackdown on illegal building work in the capital, which has seen hundreds of structures demolished and businesses closed.
Residents had complained of illegal structures on the street next to the residential block in Xicheng district, Beijing Daily reported.
As workers were demolishing the buildings with mechanical diggers on Friday, the owner of one of the flats in the block admitted the ground in the area could cave in as he had built a basement underneath, the article said.
An official was quoted as saying: “He said, ‘don’t go there, don’t go there, it’s hollow underneath’. His voice even changed and it didn’t look like he was faking it.”
The basement covered an area of about 100 square metres and the man was planning to use it as storage. Officials found an entrance to the cellar inside the man’s flat.