A 'flying' steam shovel in Chongqing

Zhang Bin was recently surprised to see a bright orange steam shovel perched atop an abandoned office building near his apartment complex in Chongqing municipality's Yuzhong district.

There was no sign of how the 22-ton piece of heavy construction machinery had made its way onto the roof of the derelict 12-story building.

Zhang was even more astonished when the steam shovel began to demolish the building, from the top down, causing the entire structure to shake and making a deafening noise.

He telephoned reporters to alert them to this unusual construction practice.

On Sunday reporters from the Chongqing Commercial Daily paid a visit to the rooftop demolition site.

There, a worker surnamed Zhang (no relation to the worried resident) explained that he and the other laborers had been hired to perform the work by a private contractor.

The head of the demolition team, surnamed Zhao, said that the steam shovel had been hauled onto the roof via a large pulley that his crew had carried up the building's staircase.

Zhao touted his company's innovative approach. "This is our pioneer way of excavation," he said. "It is safer and more convenient to excavate from top to bottom."

This was the second time his construction crew had used this method. Previously, the company had utilized a rooftop steam shovel to tear down a 21-story hotel.

Chen Liang, director of the district's work safety supervision bureau, called the operation extremely risky.

According to Chen, the building's support beams were not designed to sustain the weight of heavy construction equipment atop.

"This is obviously brutal excavation," he said.

The local government is now taking action to stop the demolition and investigate the construction company's prior safety record.

Chongqing Commercial Daily

(China Daily 06/11/2008 page6)