At around 2:30 p.m. on August 1, a water and sand inrush incident occurred at the construction site of Wuhan Rail Transit Line 12 in Hubei Province, causing road surface subsidence (about 20 meters long and 15 meters wide). At 8 p.m. on August 1, reporters saw at the scene that staff from relevant departments were handling the emergency, concrete was being poured into the collapsed area, and nearby residents had been evacuated.

Road surface subsidence occurred

The incident occurred at the intersection of Houhu Avenue and Wenbo Road in Jiang'an District of the city. Video provided to reporters by nearby residents showed that a road surface of several hundred square meters had sunk, with the deepest point exceeding 1 meter, and a car was trapped in the collapsed area.

Nearby merchants said that when the incident occurred, unusual noises came from the collapsed area. He ran out and saw the road surface slowly sinking, eventually forming a bird's-nest shape. "That is a parking lot, and there was no one in the car. There has been no water or power outage so far."

Subsidence site

Reporters saw at the scene that traffic control had been implemented on roads near the collapsed area, departments for water, electricity, gas and other utilities were handling the situation on site, and construction workers were pouring concrete into the collapsed area. A construction worker said: "The deepest part of the pit is almost 2 meters. We started pouring concrete after 3 p.m. The concrete is high-performance."

Reporters noted that on one side of the collapsed area is a high-rise building of more than 30 stories. Below the building are various shops, and above are residential units. On the other side of the collapsed area, above, is the Wuhan–Shiyan (Wuhan to Shiyan) Railway. Community staff said residents in the building had been evacuated, trains passing through the area would slow down, and the railway department had issued a delay notice.

At 9 p.m. on August 1, staff from relevant departments were handling the emergency at the scene.

A notice sent by a Wuhan municipal official said that at around 2:30 p.m. on August 1, a water and sand inrush incident occurred during construction of the Shizhong section in Jiang'an District of Wuhan Rail Transit Line 12, causing road surface subsidence at the intersection of Wenbo Road and Houhu Avenue (about 20 meters long and 15 meters wide). There were no casualties or vehicle damage at the scene. After the incident, an emergency plan was immediately activated, traffic control was implemented, and water, electricity, gas and other pipeline network units were contacted to handle the situation on site. After the incident, relevant departments and units rushed to the scene to handle the emergency and closely monitored subsidence in the area. Based on on-site monitoring and analysis, surrounding buildings and structures are safe and stable.

Staff from the Wuhan Emergency Management Bureau said that there has been no further collapse and the emergency has been brought under control.