DUJIANGYAN, China — Authorities cordoned off some schools that collapsed in last month’s mighty earthquake, keeping out grieving parents and reporters Wednesday in a sign that Beijing was becoming increasingly nervous over accusations of shoddy construction.
Parents whose children were crushed in their classrooms during the May 12 quake vowed to keep pushing the government for compensation, as well as for an explanation of why so many schools fell when other buildings remained standing.
The students’ deaths have become a political challenge for the government, which is trying to provide for the 5 million people left homeless amid growing accusations of corruption in school construction.
At Juyuan Middle School, where more than 270 students died, police officers blocked parents from entering the schoolyard Wednesday. Dozens of people crowded behind police tape, some still waiting for children to be pulled from the rubble.
“There are still bodies in there!” people shouted.
Police also ordered a half- dozen reporters to stop filming and conducting interviews at the Juyuan school Wednesday. The group was sent back on a bus to Chengdu, an hour away.
