Fracture of Prefabricated Slab in a Building in Zhongxian
An accident involving the fracture of a prefabricated slab in a building in Zhongxian occurred at around 12:00 PM on April 11, 2024. The incident took place in a three-story prefabricated building in Fengshou Community, Guanba Town, Zhongxian County, Chongqing City, resulting in 2 deaths and 3 injuries.
Casualties
The accident caused relatively serious casualties, with 2 people tragically losing their lives and 3 others injured. Among the injured, one has been discharged from the hospital, while the other two are receiving treatment and are currently out of life-threatening danger.
Cause of the Accident
According to preliminary investigations, at the time of the accident, the ground floor of the building was being used as a mahjong parlor, and the second floor as a goods warehouse. During the incident, the temporary load accumulated on the second-floor slab exceeded the bearing capacity of the prefabricated slab, causing it to fracture brittlely and collapse. As a common building component, prefabricated slabs have limited bearing capacities. When the load they bear exceeds their designed capacity, they are prone to fracture and other forms of damage. In this accident, the excessive accumulation of goods on the second floor subjected the prefabricated slab to excessive pressure, ultimately leading to the tragedy.
Rescue and Aftermath Response
After the incident, local residents demonstrated a high sense of social responsibility by spontaneously participating in the rescue efforts, buying precious time for the timely rescue of the injured. Meanwhile, relevant departments such as the County Emergency Management Bureau and the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau acted swiftly, initiating on-site response measures immediately to control the accident scene and prevent secondary disasters. The county government also attached great importance to the incident, establishing a special task force to handle aftermath matters, including consoling and compensating the families of the victims, in an effort to minimize the impact of the accident on the affected families.
Follow-up Progress
Currently, the specific cause of the accident is still under further investigation. Relevant departments will conduct a comprehensive and in-depth investigation into all aspects of the building's design, construction, and use to determine whether there are other factors contributing to the accident, such as quality issues with the prefabricated slabs themselves or structural defects in the building. Through detailed investigations, valuable lessons can be learned to prevent similar accidents in the future and avoid the recurrence of such tragedies.
