3 die following gymnasium collapse

A view of the collapsed Shenzhen Gymnasium yesterday. Sun Yuchen

Three out of four construction workers died of serious injuries after being trapped inside a collapsed gymnasium that was being demolished at the Shenzhen Sports Center in Futian District yesterday.

The other worker suffered fractures to his right femur, the Shenzhen Evening News reported on its official Weibo account.

Two peripheral construction workers also suffered fractures and were being treated at the hospital, according to the Weibo account.

Two others were under medical observation at the hospital for soft tissue contusions.

Quoting the Futian District Government, earlier media reports said doctors at the nearby Shenzhen No. 2 People’s Hospital failed to resuscitate a worker surnamed Wang.

Shenzhen Gymnasium, located on Sungang Road West, was being demolished when the collapse took place at 11:40 a.m. yesterday. Four construction workers were buried underneath the rubble.

Police officers, government employees and firefighters rushed to the scene the minute they received the report. By 12:30 p.m., two of the four trapped workers had been successfully rescued and taken to the hospital.

The cause of the collapse is being investigated.

The construction of Shenzhen Gymnasium started in 1985. Upon the completion of the project in 1987, the gymnasium became the only one of its kind in Shenzhen at the time and also the one with the most advanced facilities and the most complete functionality in China. It was rated as one of the eight cultural facilities in Shenzhen in the 1980s.

Demolition of the gymnasium started last Aug. 10 and the construction of the new gymnasium is expected to be completed before June 30 next year.

The new gymnasium will be able to accommodate 16,000 audience members, compared to the 6,000 spectator capacity of the old gymnasium.