Chapter 1052: Still Planning to Cover It Up?

Early the next morning, Tang Ye saw Dou Fanggang and Dou Qingqing off.

"Chairman, thank you for coming to Yechuan for this inspection. Your time is very precious, and it was not easy for you to make this trip; I am truly very moved."

Dou Fanggang shook hands with Tang Ye. "Qingqing's grandmother is always talking about you, saying that you call her during every holiday, but she never gets to see you in person. If you have time, go visit her."

Tang Ye nodded slightly. "It was my lack of consideration. I will definitely visit her personally once I return to Hanzhou."

After speaking, Dou Fanggang sat inside the car.

Tang Ye looked toward Dou Qingqing. "Take good care of the Chairman. If there is anything you need my help with, contact me at any time."

Dou Qingqing was stunned for a moment. "Thank you."

Sitting inside the car, Dou Qingqing opened the window and waved goodbye to Tang Ye.

She always felt that Tang Ye seemed to know something!

When she first learned that her father had cancer, Dou Qingqing felt as if the sky were collapsing, because her father had always been her source of strength.

Even though her father had been fighting cancer for half a year, Dou Qingqing still could not bring herself to believe this fact.

After sending off Dou Fanggang, Tang Ye returned to his office.

Government Office Director Wang Haiqing called him.

His tone was full of anxiety and unease.

"County Magistrate Tang, something has happened. A safety accident occurred at the Nancheng Wu Shui Chu Li Zhan project; over a dozen workers were buried, and they are currently still in the middle of rescue efforts!"

"What are the casualties?"

"The scene is quite chaotic. I only know that several people were buried; the number of casualties is not yet clear, but there may be casualties!"

"I will rush over immediately. Organize the rescue operation with all your might; do not waste time."

After hanging up the phone, Tang Ye dialed Han Zhengyi's number.

"Secretary Han, I am reporting a matter to you: a safety accident has occurred at the Nancheng Wu Shui Chu Li Zhan."

Hearing this, Han Zhengyi frowned. "Is it serious?"

"Very serious. I am going to the scene now."

Han Zhengyi was currently in the city attending a meeting. "I am in a meeting and cannot rush back for the time being."

Tang Ye sighed. "Understood. Please do not be agitated; I will report to you in a timely manner if anything happens."

Han Zhengyi hung up the phone, feeling quite anxious. He knew that Tang Ye was very capable, but after all, he had just arrived in Yechuan County, was unfamiliar with many departments, and the cadres in Yechuan were very exclusionary; he did not know if Tang Ye could handle it.

Tang Ye took out his phone and issued a series of instructions.

Although he had not been in Yechuan for long, he had been in charge of emergency management in Dayu County, was very familiar with various government departments, and knew which departments needed to be coordinated at this time.

After receiving Tang Ye's call, Ma Ran immediately began requesting vehicles from the motorcade.

After the vehicles arrived, Ma Ran knocked open the door to Tang Ye's office.

"The car is already downstairs."

Tang Ye nodded slightly. "Let's go!"

After the car started, Tang Ye emphasized to the driver, "Without compromising safety, drive a bit faster."

A grave expression appeared on the driver's face, and he became decisive and firm as he stepped on the accelerator.

On the road, Tang Ye kept in contact with various departments by phone, sternly ordering them to rescue the buried personnel at all costs.

They arrived at the sewage treatment site.

It was a scene of great activity.

Deputy County Magistrate Li Yongan, Political and Legal Affairs Commission Secretary Cai Zhengping, Deputy County Magistrate and Public Security Bureau Chief Zheng Shaokang, and numerous street office cadres had all arrived at the scene.

Police officers from the local Police Station had set up a cordon around the accident site.

Seeing Tang Ye, Li Yongan, who was in charge of emergency management, came up to meet him.

He was covered in sweat. "The excavator operator was hoisting a steel formwork. During the hoisting process, the U-shaped buckle holding the steel formwork suddenly deformed and loosened. The steel formwork in the air was subjected to uneven force and tilted downward, striking the adjacent formwork, which caused three already-installed steel formworks to collapse in a chain reaction."

"The earthwork on the side of the foundation pit and the road surface collapsed, and the workers working on the retaining wall were buried underneath."

Tang Ye frowned. "I need precise numbers. Exactly how many are buried below?"

Li Yongan wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Eleven."

Tang Ye's expression became grave, and he pressed, "How long have they been buried?"

Li Yongan sighed. "Over an hour. Looking at the situation, the consequences are hard to predict."

For a county, if the death toll reached eleven, it would be an extraordinarily major safety accident, and the main leaders of the County Party Committee and County Government would absolutely have to bear responsibility.

For Tang Ye, even with Jiang Jing covering for him from above, he would likely have to be dealt with.

Li Yongan was anxious to the point of desperation. He was not well-regarded in Yechuan County, and it was precisely because he was squeezed out of the power center that he was put in charge of this mess of emergency management; because if anything happened, he would certainly be the first to be pushed out as a scapegoat.

Li Yongan felt that Tang Ye was also quite unlucky.

He had been in Yechuan for less than a month and had already run into such a thorny problem. If he did not handle it well, let alone being confirmed as the Acting County Magistrate, he would very likely receive a disciplinary action and then be forcibly transferred.

Now that the situation was urgent, it did not allow Tang Ye to consider personal gains or losses.

He arrived at the collapsed road surface and took a look at the chaotic situation below.

Zheng Shaokang hurriedly tried to stop Tang Ye from continuing forward, whispering, "County Magistrate Tang, it is unstable here and could collapse again at any time. If something else happens, it will be impossible to talk about."

Tang Ye turned and looked at Zheng Shaokang. "Does the county have a professional rescue team?"

Zheng Shaokang shook his head. "The county's armed police have already been mobilized, but now we are mainly relying on the construction workers to dig down. We cannot use machinery because it is too narrow here."

Tang Ye frowned and communicated with the city to see if he could secure rescue support from them.

Li Yongan said in surprise, "If we apply for support from the city, then the matter won't be able to be covered up."

Tang Ye said with some anger, "With such a big matter, saving people is the top priority. What time is it, and you are still planning to cover it up?"

Li Yongan did not dare to be careless and hurriedly dialed the phone of County Party Secretary Han Zhengyi.

"Secretary Han, there is a matter I want to communicate with you about. County Magistrate Tang feels that the speed of the on-site rescue is too slow, so he is applying for support from the city. Once that happens, the city will definitely know about the situation of this safety accident."

Han Zhengyi frowned and sighed, "Hand the phone to County Magistrate Tang!"

Li Yongan hurriedly handed the phone to Tang Ye, "County Magistrate Tang, Secretary Han wants to speak with you."

Tang Ye answered the phone and said in a grave tone, "Secretary Han, I am at the scene. The rescue speed is too slow. For a safety accident like this, every minute and every second is critical, so we must seek support from the city."

Han Zhengyi said, "Comrade Tang Ye, I can understand your feelings. Although the situation is urgent, I still think we should try our best to control the impact and, as much as possible, resolve this within our county without 'bothering' the city."

Tang Ye understood what Han Zhengyi meant, "Secretary Han, the matter of seeking support from the city was an order I issued. You are attending a meeting in the city; I can understand your feelings, but you do not understand the situation at the scene, so the decisions made might be subject to error. If any problems arise because of applying for support from the city, I am willing to take responsibility."

Han Zhengyi did not expect Tang Ye to be so insistent, and sighed, "Since you are so insistent, it is not appropriate for me to continue to persuade you. With such a major accident, it is impossible to let you bear the pressure alone. You should act according to the circumstances at the scene!"

Although these words from Han Zhengyi sounded a bit like empty formalities.

However, his attitude at least did not make Tang Ye feel it was grating!

"Very well, I will provide you with timely feedback on any developments!"