Locals in hole after road collapse

Villagers living close to the route of Subway Line 10 said Wednesday they are in fear for their safety after a 1.5-meter sinkhole opened up right next to the wall of a village house.

The ground collapsed as a resident was driving a car along a narrow lane between two houses in Jijiamiao village in Fengtai district on Monday.

The incident drew attention from the local government and the construction company of Beijing Subway Line 10 later on that day, residents said.

On Wednesday afternoon, the hole was covered by wooden boards, with a sign reading "this place is dangerous."

Local resident Li Zhenying said villagers were all worried about their own safety long before the sinkhole opened up.

"I can even feel the subway every time it passes underground," said Li, "now with this new sinkhole, I feel it's not safe to stay here."

Liu Yuzhu, director of Jijiamiao village committee, said they called the subway construction company Monday.

"We knew this hole would be related to the subway line because it's not the first time Subway Line 10 construction has caused a hole," he said. Previously, there was a sinkhole when the second phase of Line 10 was still under construction in early 2012, he said. The second phase of Subway Line 10 opened in December, 2012.

Liu said that there are four families living near the hole and they plan to move them away if the situation gets worse.

An engineer from the project department of China Railway 12th Bureau Group Co Ltd, surnamed Jia, said that they went to the village to inspect the hole after the village committee contacted them on Monday and then conducted a thorough technical check on Wednesday.

"I don't think the hole has much to do with us since this happened 18 months after the construction work," he said, noting that their lawful responsibility is over if no incidents occurred within 100 days after a construction project is completed.

The subway line is about 15 meters underground, and people on the ground can feel the vibration and noise, Jia said.

Jia said it is safer for residents not to stay here but they may not be in much danger.

"The soft, sandy composition of the soil means it's easier for holes to form," he said.

"We can't say if the hole is connected with the subway line until the result of the technical report is released," said Jia.

Wang Mengshu, chief engineer of the China Railway Tunnel Group, said that there are small holes hidden in the soil layer above subway tunnels.

"These holes can be from digging drainage systems or heavy rain," he said, adding the subway construction company might fail to find these holes in their surveys.

"Holes like this won't be a big problem after they are filled in with concrete," he said.