Patients ‘almost buried’, corpses covered in rubble as demolition crew knocks down part of Chinese hospital
Morgue destroyed, equipment damaged and holes punched in walls in apparent dispute over road expansion project in Zhengzhou, Henan
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 10 January, 2016, 11:09pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 10 January, 2016, 11:09pm
Wendy Wu
[email protected]
Hospital workers put up a banner saying 'We are saving lives while the forced demolition is trashing lives' after a building in a hospital was demolished in Zhengzhou in Henan province. Photo: EPA
Police in Zhengzhou, Henan province, are investigating the partial demolition of a hospital that “almost burying” patients and doctors inside, media reported on the weekend.
More than 30 unidentified people tore down part of the No 4 Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University on Thursday morning, damaging nearly 4 million yuan (HK$4.7 million) of equipment and forcing the hospital to temporarily shut down.
Liu Chunguang, director of the hospital’s radiology department, said he and his colleagues were examining patients when a huge hole was punched in the department’s wall, according to The Mirror.
“We thought it was an earthquake at first, but never guessed it was a forced demolition. When hospital workers took photos of vehicles belonging to the demolition crew, four or five of them dragged them to the car and grabbed their phones,” Liu said.
He said he was worried about a potential radioactive leak from the equipment.
Three people were injured, and six corpses buried when the morgue was levelled.
A doctor speaks to reporters after a building in a hospital was demolished, in Zhengzhou in central Henan province. Photo: EPA
Zhengzhou police said the government demolition office in Huiji district, where the hospital is located, did not follow proper eviction and demolition procedures, CCTV reported.
Xiong Zhiliang, the office’s deputy head had since been sacked and one suspect had been detained, the report said.
According to Henan Business Daily, the district government had been in talks with the hospital to demolish buildings to make way for a road expansion project but no compensation deal had been reached.
The district authorities sent four notices to the hospital that its morgue and part of the radiology department had to go but the hospital did not respond, The Mirror reported.
He Shuxue, from the city’s urban construction planning agency, was quoted by The Mirror as saying that no agreement about compensation had been reached with the hospital since negotiations began last year, and it was not clear who was involved in the demolition on Thursday morning.
The Huiji district government has vowed to get to the bottom of the incident.
