Benjamin asked Curtis to drive and headed to the spot with Harper.
The construction site was surrounded by people. Because the media were broadcasting live, Benjamin and Harper entered the construction site from the back door of the garage.
The workers were all fearful. The police were searching for other injured people, and the number of casualties had not been confirmed yet.
The atmosphere was very heavy. Harper looked at the collapsed area and murmured, "How could a collapse happen?"
Curtis brought Charlie over. Harper asked, "How did the collapse happen suddenly? There hasn't been any rain recently, and all the facilities are within normal regulations. A collapse can't occur."
"I thought the same way, but I just checked the reinforcing bars on the collapsed floor and found that they were not the Grade 3 reinforcement bars, No. 22, that we purchased. They were replaced with Grade 2 reinforcement bars, No. 22," Charlie said.
Harper was shocked.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"I'm sure, but we don't know how many of these replaced reinforcing bars have been mixed in. If every building has been affected, it means all our efforts have been in vain," Charlie said warily. With such a thing happening, he couldn't escape blame.
Harper knew the seriousness of the situation.
Changing from Grade 3 to Grade 2 meant using reinforcing bars that were only suitable for building ordinary residential buildings on high-rise buildings. It was like walking barefoot on broken glass. Even if nothing happened at first, something would happen in the end.
The air was tense, and Harper remained silent.
Benjamin glanced at her and said to Charlie, "Take me to the scene."
Charlie nodded and followed Curtis out first.
Benjamin walked up to Harper, patted her shoulder, and whispered, "I'll go check the situation now. You rest here for a while, okay?"
Harper had mixed feelings.
She murmured, "Benjamin, I'm sorry about this. I..."
"This has nothing to do with you. You're diligent enough. This is an accident that no one wanted to happen. But now that it has happened, we must find a way to minimize all the harm," Benjamin said.
He hugged Harper, patted her head, and said, "I'll go to the scene first. Wait here and don't run around, okay?"
Harper agreed but still looked solemn.
This incident had caught her off guard.
She and Charlie had checked every batch of materials, and there were no mistakes. Clearly, the different bars from the collapsed area were not approved by them.
She wondered who did it.
Harper was sullen.
Charlie took Benjamin and Curtis to the scene. The police were directing the rescue work. They were familiar with Benjamin and exchanged information.
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