Ground subsidence in the construction area of Guangzhou Metro Line 11, resulting in 3 deaths: Two responsible persons sentenced to three weeks of probation | Unit | Construction | Personnel | Geology | Project | Accident | Construction
According to an article published on June 15, 2023 on the official WeChat official account of the Guangzhou Procuratorate, "Guangzhou Procuratorate", recently, the Guangzhou Procuratorate and the Guangzhou Emergency Management Bureau jointly released typical criminal cases in the field of work safety, including the case of Zhou and Wang, who were responsible for the subsidence accident of Guangzhou Metro Line 11 in 2019. This case introduces that Zhou, the safety director and actual person in charge of the underground excavation civil engineering project at a subway station, and Wang, the chief engineer and technical person in charge of the project, committed the crime of a major responsibility accident and were all sentenced to three years in prison with a three-year probation.
According to a previous report by Pengpai News, at 9:28 am on December 1, 2019, a ground collapse occurred at the intersection of Guangzhou Avenue North and Yudongxi Road. The affected area was the construction area of Shahe Station on Metro Line 11. A cleaning vehicle and an electric bicycle passing through the district fell into it, trapping a total of three people. It was not until January 10, 2020 that all three personnel's bodies were found.
In May 2020, the investigation report of the accident was publicly released. The investigation report stated that due to the orderly evacuation of 5 workers by the underground shift leader in accordance with the emergency plan, no casualties were caused to the underground personnel. However, the risk awareness of the project department was not strong, and the road surface above the collapse was not enclosed in a timely manner, resulting in three casualties passing by. The enterprise's early emergency response was unqualified. The investigation team determined that the direct cause of the accident was the combination of special geological environment and other factors during the construction of the underground excavation method, which caused the permeable collapse of the arch crown.
After the accident, two responsible persons were held criminally responsible.
According to the investigation report, Zhou, the executive deputy manager of the Shahe Station project on Metro Line 11 of China Railway Fifth Bureau Fourth Company, was in charge of daily work and was the actual person in charge of the project. He did not implement the meeting resolution to add necessary geological exploration methods, and did not organize and implement comprehensive geological exploration in accordance with the construction design requirements under unclear geological conditions. He did not supervise the use of advanced geological exploration and was directly responsible for the accident.
Wang, the chief engineer of the Shahe Station project on Metro Line 11 of China Railway Fifth Bureau Fourth Company, has a weak safety awareness and insufficient safety risk control for the construction of the underground excavation method. He is also directly responsible for the occurrence of accidents.
The above two individuals suggest that after the judicial authorities make a decision in accordance with the law, the relevant enterprises and industry regulatory authorities should promptly give corresponding treatment according to their management authority.
According to the article published by the Guangzhou Prosecutor, Zhou is the safety director and actual person in charge of the underground excavation civil engineering project of a certain subway station, responsible for daily work; Wang is the chief engineer and technical leader of the project. At around 9:15 am on December 1, 2019, a permeable arch collapse accident occurred in the subway project. Due to the project department's failure to timely enclose the collapsed road surface, the victims Shi, Shi Wei, and Luo who passed by here died, resulting in direct economic losses of over 20 million yuan. After the accident investigation, it was determined that Zhou and Wang were both directly responsible for the accident. After the accident, Zhou and Wang surrendered themselves.
On October 21, 2020, the Tianhe District Branch of Guangzhou Public Security Bureau transferred Zhou and Wang to the Tianhe District People's Procuratorate for review and prosecution on suspicion of major responsibility accidents. On January 21, 2021, the People's Procuratorate of Tianhe District filed a public prosecution, and based on the circumstances of the two defendants surrendering, compensation from their affiliated units, and understanding from the victim's family members, applied the leniency system for confession and punishment, and proposed corresponding sentencing recommendations. On December 31, 2021, the People's Court of Tianhe District adopted the sentencing recommendation of the procuratorial organs and sentenced Zhou to three years in prison with a three-year probation for the crime of major responsibility accidents; Sentenced Wang to three years in prison with a three-year probation.
The article also analyzed the reasons for the case: