Beijing, Sep 5 (IANS): Authorities in China's Shanxi province have detained two people for allegedly damaging a section of the Great Wall with an excavator, according to state media.

On Monday, state broadcaster CCTV reported that the authorities in Youyu county said they received a notification on August 24 that a gap in the wall was created in Yangqianhe township.

After an investigation, police found a 38-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman had used an excavator to breach the wall in order to create a shortcut to pass through, causing “irreversible” damage to the integrity and safety of that portion of the wall, CNN quoted the broadcaster as saying.

Police said the investigation was ongoing.

The area, known as the 32nd Great Wall, is one of the surviving complete walls and watch towers dated back to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and is listed as a provincial cultural relic site.

The Great Wall was designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1987.