I posted about some building structures falling down in China a few weeks ago and just got an interesting update (thanks Gravey). You may recall the photo, that has made it’s way around the internet, and dramatically shows the failure.

I castigated China in my post for likely not being forthcoming with an investigation and report, but it appears the failure is being studied and reports are being circulated.

“The investigation team’s report said that workers dug an underground garage on
one side of the building while on the other side earth was heaped up to 10 meters
high, which was apparently an error in construction, according to a report on
eastday.com, Shanghai’s official news website. “Any construction company with
common sense would not make such a mistake,” said an expert from the
investigation team.”

The construction company officials have been accused of incompetence and lacking common sense and put “under appropriate controls.”

The graphics below clearly show the sequence of events. It’s a good object lesson to remember to avoid rashness and step back and consider all the outcomes when making day to day decisions.