According to state broadcaster CCTV, two persons were arrested after using an excavator to dig a hole through the Great Wall of China. Police in Shanxi province tracked machinery used to dig a hole through a section of the structure — the massive construction erected by China’s emperors to resist foreign invaders. According to state media, the suspects revealed under questioning that they used a digger to make a shortcut/ hole through the wall in order to shorten local travel time.
The suspects did ‘irreversible damage’ to the Ming-era wall
The construction of the Great Wall began in the third century BC and proceeded for decades. The Wall is divided into parts that span thousands of kilometers, in terms of area and it dates back to China’s Ming Dynasty, which ruled from the 14th through the 17th centuries. It is located roughly a six-hour drive from west of central Beijing.
The suspects, according to State broadcaster CCTV, did “irreversible damage” to the Ming-era wall, which was characterized as a “relatively intact” part of major research significance. Images on Chinese official television showed the aftermath of the incident, with a sandy track cut through a lengthy, raised area of land that appeared to be the remains of the old barrier. “Currently, the two suspects have been criminally detained in accordance with the law, and the case is under investigation,” according to CCTV.