Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 64621 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 05TAIPEI4815, KAOHSIUNG KMRT SUBWAY CONSTRUCTION SITE COLLAPSES

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #05TAIPEI4815.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
05TAIPEI4815 2005-12-07 08:44 2011-08-23 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS TAIPEI 004815 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/RSP/TC 
DEPT PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
FROM AIT KAOHSIUNG BRANCH OFFICE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EWWT ETRD ECON TW
SUBJECT: KAOHSIUNG KMRT SUBWAY CONSTRUCTION SITE COLLAPSES 
AGAIN 
 
REF:  A) TAIPEI 4419, B) TAIPEI 4353 
 
1.  SUMMARY.  Beset by scandals involving foreign labor and 
shady financing, Kaohsiung's Mass Rapid Transit (KMRT) 
subway construction came to another standstill on December 
5, this time due to a major cave- in at one of the 
construction sites.  As with three previous cave-ins, this 
incident was caused by tunnelers hitting underground water. 
According to KMRT authorities this is the most serious 
incident to date.  While workers have stopped the flow of 
water, a major section of the roadway above the site remains 
closed.  An adjacent park and several buildings have also 
sustained damage.  No one was injured in the incident.  End 
Summary. 
 
2.  The roadway above the construction site of the KMRT 
Orange Line Station 07 collapsed on 5 December, despite 
twenty hours of frantic efforts by construction workers to 
stem the flow of underground water.  At 4 p.m. on December 
4, while digging a retention pond, workers hit an 
underground stream.  The water ruptured a 100-meter long 
section of the tunnel wall.  Workers immediately began 
attempts to stem the flow.  However, leakage continued and 
each time that workers thought the flow had been stopped, a 
new cave in occurred.  By early afternoon on the fifth, a 
ten-meter deep 50 by 30-meter pit had developed, consuming 
three lanes of Chung Cheng Road and a major portion of the 
adjacent park.  By the time the situation had been 
stabilized, more than 7,000 cubic meters of soil and gravel 
had poured into the hole. 
 
3.  In addition to disrupting road traffic, city officials 
have had to halt rail traffic in the area.  The rail line is 
adjacent to the park and about 50 meters away from the cave- 
in site.  Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corportation (KRTC) 
officials estimate that it will take seven to ten days to 
complete temporary repairs and reopen Chung Cheng Road, 
which is a key traffic artery in Kaohsiung City.  The rail 
service was interrupted as a safety precaution and will be 
resumed once safety officials certify that the ground under 
the railway is stable. 
 
4.    The cost to make final repairs to the site is 
estimated at NTD 500 million, roughly USD 15 million.  KRTC 
officials said that no human error was involved as they had 
done a geotechnical survey of the area and determined that 
underground water would not pose a problem.  However, the 
previous cave-ins also resulted from hitting underground 
water after geotechnical surveys had indicated that 
construction would not be adversely affected by underground 
water.  Two of the previous cave-ins were in the area of Red 
Line Station 01, close to Kaohsiung Harbor and the Love 
River.  The third was near Orange Line Station 08, also on 
Chung Cheng Road, about one kilometer from the site of the 
present incident. 
 
5.  The Kaohsiung City Council, which ordered a temporary 
halt to construction after the previous incidents, is 
currently meeting to discuss how to proceed in this case. 
There is growing concern that the subway will be unable to 
meet its scheduled 2007 completion date.  Presently, all 
work along Chung Cheng Road has ceased so that crews can be 
diverted to make emergency repairs. 
 
6.  Comment.  While KRTC officials assert that all necessary 
geotechnical surveys were done, they seem oblivious to the 
fact that the surveys have been consistently wrong.  There 
are several underground streams that wind through the 
construction area, posing a substantial risk to motorists 
and pedestrians using the temporary roadways above the 
construction sites.  While no one was injured in the present 
case, the situation would have been catastrophic had the 
incident occurred at rush hour rather than late on a Sunday 
evening.  End Comment. 
 
Thiele 
 
Keegan