On July 9th, a 7-story residential building in Jilin Liaoyuan City had 4 balconies collapse, sparking concerns.
A viral video showed that all balconies from the 1st to 4th floors of a residential building in Longshan District, Liaoyuan City had collapsed, with bricks exposed on the edges. Another video showed large machinery arriving at the scene, working on dismantling the remaining balconies upstairs.
On July 9th, Da Wan News contacted the Liaoyuan City Emergency Management Bureau for information. The on-duty personnel stated, “We have received the news, there have been no casualties at the moment, and the specific situation is under investigation.” Work staff from the Longshan District Emergency Management Bureau mentioned that they are not very clear about the specific causes and follow-up actions of the incident.
On the 10th, staff from the Nankang Street Office in Longshan District, Liaoyuan City, informed Hua Shang News that “there were no casualties in the accident. Currently, the homeowners in the residential area have been relocated and settled in nearby hotels. The parts with safety hazards have been dismantled, and the cause of the balcony collapse is under investigation.”
The video quickly went viral on the internet and hit the trending charts on Baidu.
Netizens commented, “It’s terrifying. Luckily, no one was standing on the balcony, otherwise it would have been a disaster.” “The quality of this is so unbelievable, but not surprising at all.”
“A quick internet search shows that balcony issues are common in this city. It’s a simple load-bearing structure, not something mysterious. How could it fail so badly in the country that’s supposed to have strict standards? Did the rebars just twist themselves?” “There seems to be no connection between the rebar and the floor slab on the balcony.” “For protruding rebar at such positions, they are supposed to be much thicker, double the thickness of rebars embedded in the roof.”
Netizens mentioned a balcony collapse incident in 2015 that occurred on October 23rd. It happened on the south side of Industrial and Commercial Bank Building 9312, where balconies on both sides of a unit collapsed suddenly, resulting in 1 death and 4 injuries.