GUANGZHOU, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- South China's Guangdong Province has held 32 civil servants and four organizations accountable for an expressway collapse that killed 52 people and injured 30 last year. The incident exposed serious failures in the construction, operation and maintenance of the affected road section.
Following an investigation approved by the provincial Party committee, the provincial discipline inspection and supervision commission found that negligence and dereliction of duty had led to the disaster, according to a statement published on the commission's website.
Among those disciplined, Huang Chengzao, deputy director of the provincial department of transport, and Ren Meilong, former director of the provincial highway affairs center, have been formally reprimanded and are required to submit written reports acknowledging their mistakes and outlining corrective measures.
The four organizations held accountable -- the provincial department of transport, the provincial highway affairs center, Guangdong Transportation Group Co., Ltd. and the Meizhou municipal department of transport -- have been ordered to submit written self-criticism reports.
The deadly collapse occurred on the Meizhou-Dabu Expressway in the city of Meizhou on May 1, 2024. One side of the expressway caved in, causing 23 vehicles to roll down a slope.
According to an investigation report unveiled earlier this week, the collapse was caused by prolonged, continuous rainfall combined with multiple other factors.
The adverse factors that exacerbated the damage occurred in the early morning of the collapse and included rain, poor visibility and a higher-than-usual traffic volume. There were also issues in the construction, operation and maintenance of the road, which had a negative impact on the embankment's disaster resilience, the report said. ■
