Chinese Hospital Partially Demolished While Medical Staff, Patients Were Still Inside
A hospital in China was partially demolished Thursday while medical staffers were still working and a patient was being treated inside the establishment. ABC News reported Saturday that about 20 people in military uniform carried out the demolition that caused medical staffers to flee.
The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Huiji District was demolished amid a land argument relating to road widening project near the hospital. The department of radiology and its morgue were greatly affected after the demolition was conducted Thursday morning.
"I was operating...(an X-ray) machine. The noise (of the demolition) was terrifying," Doctor Liu Chunguang told CCTV, as noted by Straits Times Saturday. "My patient was sitting beside me, shouting that there was an earthquake. The patient ran away, terrified."
Some of the dead bodies in the hospital's morgue were reportedly buried under debris after the demolition.
"Burying the bodies of patients in rubble is extremely disrespectful to the deceased," hospital official Yuan Fang told Xinhua, as noted by IB Times Saturday. "I never imagined anything like this would ever happen."
Medical staffers told reporters that equipment worth more than $600,000 had been damaged while some workers were reportedly hurt when they tried to stop the demolition.
A witness said "the whole process took less than half an hour," giving them no time to act in response. The hospital revealed they were not given prior notice before the demolition was conducted.
Contrary to this, Huiji District Government Information Office released a statement that "they had asked the hospital in vain to demolish the CT room and morgue itself," as per AP Friday. The office added that the demolition team made sure there were no people inside the hospital before conducting the demolition, adding that there were no casualties recorded after the activity.
Further reports have revealed that forced demolitions are considered a common issue in China, particularly in rural areas. Forced demolitions or forced evictions are being carried out in order to give way for the development projects by the local governments.