TOPICS 

    Subscribe to our newsletter

     By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use.

    FOLLOW US

    • About Us
    • |
    • Contribute
    • |
    • Contact Us
    • |
    • Sitemap
    封面
    NEWS

    Wuhan Metro Tunnel Floods, Emergency Repairs Underway

    Following weeks of heavy rain, water gushes into under-construction subway line.

    A subway tunnel currently under construction in Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei province, flooded with water and sand on Sunday afternoon, local news outlet Chutian Metropolis Daily reported early Monday morning.

    A Wuhan Metro Group employee surnamed Wang but unwilling to talk on the record told Sixth Tone on Monday morning that some 1,000 people had worked through the night and that the situation was now under control. “The repairs are expected to be completed soon,” she said. There have been no reports of casualties.

    The affected route, Line 6, runs nearly 40 kilometers, connecting the northwest and southwest parts of the city. The line is scheduled to open in December. When asked whether Sunday’s incident will delay the opening, Wang said it was hard to say.

    The gushing water and sand were caused by the rising water levels following continuous rainfall, Wuhan Metro Group said in a statement posted to its Weibo microblog on Monday morning.

    Wuhan received more than 560 millimeters of rain between June 30 and July 6, according to the city’s flood control headquarters. Large parts of the city flooded, leading to questions on how the government had spent the billions it supposedly invested in preventing such a disaster.

    Despite the widespread flooding, construction sites along Line 6 had until this weekend kept clear of the water, owing to emergency measures initiated on July 6.

    The construction company involved in building Line 6, China Railway First Group, declined to comment when contacted by Sixth Tone on Monday morning.

    Additional reporting by Wang Lianzhang.

    (A surveillance video screenshot shows rescue workers at the scene of a flooded tunnel of an under-construction part of subway Line 6 in Wuhan, July 17, 2016. Song Zhentao/VCG)