'Improper planning caused collapse'

SHANGHAI: It was due to "improper planning and failure to stabilize structural foundation" during the construction of the property that led to the residential building collapse in the eastern outskirts of Shanghai over the weekend, a preliminary investigation has found.

The under-construction building in the Lotus Riverside residential complex in Minhang district that fell on its side, almost intact, killing a construction worker on Saturday morning, had mud packed as high as 10 m to one side as builders dug to make an underground car park on the other.

A member of the team investigating the collapse, which angered some 500 homeowners of the still unoccupied complex, said: "No builder with basic construction knowledge should have made that error."