Villagers 'not responsible for tourist death'

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-27 11:09

Family members of a couple killed by a lightning strike on the Great Wall will appeal a court ruling that absolved local villagers of responsibility.

Newly weds Wei Junwei, who worked at the State Intellectual Property Office, and Peking University PhD candidate Chen Yunyun died after being struck during a storm on the Jiankou Great Wall in Huairou district on Jun 13.

The pair was on a day trip with three colleagues and each of the five spent 20 yuan to enter an eco-tourism park to access a restricted section of the wall, which lies 1 km to the west.

The couple's family members sued the eco-tourism park and the village committee which controls the park for negligence and asked 600,000 yuan in compensation.

However, the Huairou district court rejected their request yesterday.

"There is a certain management fault existing in the village committee and eco-tourism park, but the couple's death was not directly caused by the management," the court said.

Chen's father, Chen Sijun, told METRO that the family would appeal to the Beijing No 1 Intermediate Court.

"The judgment is unfair, and the Jiankou village committee and the eco-tourism park are operating the Great Wall for profit," Chen said.

He said the village committee and the eco-tourism park operated the Jiankou Great Wall as a business and it should be responsible for safety of tourists, including the installation of lightning rods and road maintenance.

Chen Yujiang, head of Xizhazi village committee, said they were sympathetic, but were not responsible for the accident.

Chen said the Great Wall is a national monument owned by the central government and it is impossible for a village to manage.

Jiankou Great Wall is between Yanxi town and Bohai town. Bohai town manages the west side of the Great Wall and Yanxi town, where the Xizhazi village is located, manages the east side.

However, the couple died on the west side of the wall, so it fell under the jurisdiction of Bohai town.

Chen said that although the eco-tourism park is open to tourists, the Jiankou Great Wall is a national cultural relic, and tourists are not allowed to go there.