Demolition experts have blasted the remains of the central China bridge that collapsed four days ago, killing at least 41 people, in a bid to recover other possible victims, as new claims emerged about the quality and speed of the construction.
They detonated explosives at 2:28 a.m. on Friday, demolishing the three collapsed concrete piers, where more bodies are believed to be buried.
Rescuers say the chances of anyone surviving in the debris are minimal.
The huge piers were too heavy to be moved and had hindered the search.
Before the explosion, experts and rescuers had searched the rubble with detection equipment, but found no signs of life.
Dozens of trucks are carrying debris from the site while soldiers and medical workers comb the site for victims.
Sun Xinlin, a rescue worker, said the smell of bodies was apparent near the No.1 pier site and there might be victims under it.
Injured worker Long Shaozhong said, "We had been worried about the possible collapse of the bridge because it has a rather wide span."
Lying in his hospital bed, Long said he and other workers had a feeling that construction was proceeding too quickly, especially when they dismantled all the scaffolding before the concrete had completely dried.
By Thursday, 41 bodies had been retrieved from the debris of the collapsed bridge. More bodies are expected to be found.
The wife of Zeng Xincai, a missing construction worker, and other family members waited outside the site. She told Xinhua that her husband and two other workers were crushed under the No.3 pier according to rescued workers and they were waiting to see them.
The 328-meter-long, 42-meter-high bridge over the Tuojiang River in Fenghuang County in western Hunan Province, collapsed on Monday afternoon when an estimated 123 workers were dismantling steel scaffolding.
Construction began in March 2004 and the bridge was scheduled to open to traffic at the end of the month.
An investigation into the causes of the accident is still underway.
(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2007)
