As part of the emergency measures, rescue teams poured tons of mud onto the ground, demolished tilted buildings and fortified a floodwall with sandbags and steel bars.

The emergency passage connecting two underwater tubes of a new subway line, RT No 4, was sealed with two 9-meter-high and 2.7-meter-wide armored concrete walls.

On Tuesday, the cave-in happened at the passage, causing sand and water to pour in, leading to a wide range of surface subsidence above ground.

In the chain reaction, one building collapsed and five others tilted. Part of a flood-wall on Huangpu River collapsed. No one was injured, however.

Shanghai's largest audio and video product wholesale market, which was housed in one of the affected buildings that was pulled down, said it had found a new business place and will open this week at the earliest.

Another eight-story office building in the accident area will be the next target to be demolished, officials said.

The 25-story Linjiang Huayuan Building, the home of the Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau, however, should be safe now, local media reports said.

Nevertheless, bureau officials are continuing to move files and documents out of the building. The files include individual tax records from the past five years and pension data.

(eastday.com July 7, 2003)