Qi Education Bureau had carried out safety inspections of school buildings 4 months ago

In a devastating incident, the roof of the gymnasium at No. 34 Middle School in Longsha District, Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province collapsed on July 23rd at around 4 pm. As of noon on the 24th, 15 people had been trapped, with 11 confirmed fatalities and four injuries. Authorities are currently investigating the accident, which has left the community in shock.

The collapse has sparked discussion among Chinese social media users, with many expressing concerns about the effectiveness of safety inspections. Some have questioned whether there was a build-up of perlite on the roof at the time of the inspection, and whether the media is focusing on irrelevant issues instead of addressing the tragic loss of life.

One user wrote, "Was there a build-up of perlite on the roof at the time of the safety inspection? If there wasn't, why is the media talking about it?" Another added, "Reporter query found that the collapse accident 4 months ago, Qiqihar City Bureau of Education had carried out a school building safety inspection, and for the supervision and inspection of the problems found in the requirements of the counties (cities) and districts of the school to establish a safety problem rectification ledger, the development of effective and efficient rectification measures, the full implementation of rectification work. Such a big safety problem, safety inspection surprisingly did not find, the relevant inspectors are just walking around."

The incident has also sparked broader discussions about formalism in China, with many users suggesting that such tragic events are symptomatic of a larger issue within society. One user commented, "Either drive a car in school or pile building materials on the gym. It's too criminal. Do it." Another added, "Formalistic inspections feel like a national trend. After the last natural gas explosion, our city arranged a safety inspection, and when there was a crack in the main pipe of our building, the person who came to inspect the pipe didn't even bring a tester, but just took a chemical that looked like cement and finished the job. The people in the building