Haitians tend to build walls with light concrete blocks which are not reinforced and they then use heavy concrete slabs for roofs and ceilings.

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There are also now dozens of amputees who will need long-term help - some people could only be rescued by having their arms or feet cut off because they were trapped by heavy concrete.

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On Sunday night, rescuers working deep inside the rubble were told to leave, as cranes were brought in to begin lifting the heavy blocks of fallen concrete.

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Pile: long heavy section of timber, concrete or metal, driven into the earth or seabed as support for another structure.

UNESCO: L O S S A R Y

Priyanka's parents' Vauxhall Zafira was "punted" into a concrete barrier by Booth's heavy goods vehicle.

BBC: Priyanka Bhogal

The court was told Priyanka's parents' car was forced into a concrete barrier by Booth's heavy goods vehicle.

BBC: Priyanka Bhogal

Yet several times a year I come home to find new books on my stoop the size of concrete blocks, and nearly as heavy.

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Heavy lifting gear is now being used to raise slabs of concrete at the Rana Plaza garment factory, where at least 380 died after Wednesday's collapse.

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Covering "vast areas" in concrete could also mean rivers bursting their banks after heavy rainfall because water will run off the land more quickly he said.

BBC: Water threat to new homes plan