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Jimu News reporter Deng Bo and Xie Mao

On August 18, during the operation of the Lawei Bridge on the Yunnan-Guizhou section of the Chongqing-Kunming High-speed Railway in Xundian County, Kunming, a bridge-erecting machine guide beam fell, killing six people. The project involved has been suspended. Some experts in bridges and tunnels and people in the high-speed railway construction industry said that bridge-erecting machines are widely used and have mature technology, and accidents involving bridge-erecting machine guide beams falling are very rare.

The previous construction scene of the Lawei Bridge (Photo courtesy of "Spring City on Palm")

An accident occurred in a high-speed rail project under construction, killing 6 people

According to the Beijing-Kunming High-Speed ​​Railway Xikun Co., Ltd. on August 23, at around 7:30 am on August 18, the construction unit China Railway 16th Bureau was preparing to erect the 9th beam of the Lawei Extra-Large Bridge on the Yunnan-Guizhou section of the Chongqing-Kunming High-Speed ​​Railway in Xundian County, Kunming City, when the guide beam of the bridge-erecting machine fell, resulting in the death of 6 people.

After the accident, China Railway 16th Bureau Group, together with the local government, immediately activated the emergency plan and organized emergency, fire, public security, health and railway departments to rush to the construction site to jointly carry out rescue and treatment work. At present, the aftermath work for the victims has been fully launched. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Jimu News reporters learned from local officials that the project in question has been suspended.

Schematic diagram of Chongqing-Kunming high-speed railway (Photo from China Railway Weibo)

Public data shows that the Chongqing-Kunming High-speed Railway is a key component of the Beijing-Kunming corridor of the national "eight vertical and eight horizontal" railway network. It is 699 kilometers long, of which the Yunnan section is 388.6 kilometers long and is the first high-speed railway in Yunnan Province with a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour. The Xi'an-Kunming section of the Beijing-Kunming High-speed Railway is under the construction management, asset management and entrusted operation of the Beijing-Kunming High-speed Railway Xikun Co., Ltd.

According to a report by Kunming Daily in January 2024, the Lawei Bridge is located in Xundian County, with a total length of 1,963.034 meters. On January 25, the middle span of the continuous beam of the Lawei Bridge was successfully closed. The report said that this marked a breakthrough in the construction of the Chongqing-Kunming High-speed Railway project and laid the foundation for the subsequent box beam erection and track laying work.

Expert: Guide beam falling accidents are very rare

An expert in bridge and tunnel engineering told Jimu News that a bridge erector is a self-propelled bridge construction equipment used to erect prefabricated beams. The design of the bridge erector has been extensively tested and is very mature. The operation also has a strict process, requires the cooperation of multiple people, and the equipment models are also diverse. Because the bridge erector is fast and efficient, it is currently widely used in various highway and railway bridge projects.

The expert introduced that the guide beam that fell in this accident is an auxiliary facility for the bridge-building machine to pass through the hole. Its important function is to provide a fulcrum for the bridge-building machine to pass through the hole, so that the bridge-building machine can move smoothly to the hole where the bridge is not built and carry out subsequent projects.

"The guide beam falling accident is very rare." The expert said that according to the published information, the accident occurred during the preparation for the erection of the 9th hole beam. It is possible that the accident occurred when the guide beam was passing through the hole. The guide beam is in a large cantilever state when passing through the hole, which is also the most dangerous time. At this time, if a component is not properly maintained or inspected and deformed or damaged, it may cause an accident. "This type of large equipment still needs to strengthen maintenance and inspection."

Another industry insider who has been engaged in high-speed rail construction for more than ten years also told Jimu News that accidents involving the guide beam of a bridge-building machine falling are rare. China has been engaged in high-speed rail construction for many years and has rich experience. The use of bridge-building machines in high-speed rail construction is not new. Since bridge-building machines are large equipment, usually weighing hundreds of tons, they require the cooperation of multiple teams, especially when the equipment is moved, and each team must strictly follow the operating procedures to confirm before they can move forward.

(Source: Jimu News)

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