Yesterday afternoon saw an accident take place outside a bar and restaurant popular with the foreign community in Xinjiekou that left two construction workers injured and a considerable blot on the otherwise immaculate face of downtown Nanjing.
The accident occurred yesterday, 2 September, at IST Mall in Xinjiekou, where scaffolding erected outside Blue Frog collapsed at around 3.30pm.
Blue Frog is popular with Nanjing’s expats for its quality western food and drink specials. The scaffolding had been erected to service signage on the side of IST above the restaurant’s temporarily-closed, popular outdoor-seating area.
As a result of the collapse, two of the construction workers on duty at the time received unspecified injuries, reported the Yangtze Evening News.
The exact cause of the collapse remains under investigation, revealed an official online report, but it is likely the strong gusts of wind in the area at the time will have been the most deciding factor.
Questions will inevitably be raised, however, not least why the scaffolding was permitted a north-facing, wooden fascia. With the prevailing winds in Nanjing being northerly, the structure could have been a threat to public safety from the very time it was first erected.
