Shanghai,. There was a stir in China’s major metropolis Shanghai when a busy road suddenly caved in. The incident took place near Qixin Road in Minhang District, where the road surface collapsed into a 10 to 20 meter wide crater within seconds. The entire incident was captured in the CCTV cameras installed nearby.
According to the local administration, complaints of water leakage were received in the area before the incident. On 11 February, construction agencies had identified water leakage under the road and were monitoring it. It is feared that due to the bursting of the main pipeline, the soil beneath the ground became weak, due to which the road suddenly caved in. There is no report of any casualty in the accident, but there are reports of cracks in nearby buildings. After the incident, an atmosphere of panic was created in the area. As a precautionary measure, the administration immediately closed the road and diverted the traffic.
It is being told that the construction work of railway line was going on near the spot. China Railway Tunnel Bureau, the company associated with this project, has started emergency repair work on the spot. With the help of heavy machines, the edges of the pit are being examined and efforts are being made to stabilize the ground. According to eyewitnesses, water is seen continuously coming out from inside the pit, due to which the possibility of pipeline burst has become stronger. The team of experts is trying to find out the source of the leak and what steps should be taken to prevent such incidents in future. The local administration has ordered structural checks of nearby buildings and appealed to people not to pay heed to rumours.