April 4, 2007

Four workers killed in Beijing subway cave-in

BEIJING

A cave-in along a subway line being built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics killed four construction workers, state media reported Sunday.

The bodies of three workers who apparently suffocated after the tunnel collapse had been recovered by Sunday, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The body of a fourth worker could not immediately be recovered. Two workers remained missing.

The accident and allegations of an attempted cover up by the construction company have embarrassed the city as it prepares for the highly anticipated games next year.

Construction company China Railway 12th Bureau Group Co. has been accused of sealing the site immediately after the accident, confiscating employees’ mobile phones and ordering people not to talk to police or media.

The company waited eight hours to report the accident on the line, which runs through the main Olympics compound in northwestern Beijing, Xinhua reported earlier, citing unidentified Beijing officials.

Police have detained 10 people, including the project supervisor and the tunnel’s designers.

It did not say if they had been charged with any crime.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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