State media reported Friday that 53 people died in a building collapse in central China one week ago. Rescuers had found 10 survivors after the search for the debris pile was completed.
In an online posting, CCTV stated that all missing persons were now accounted for at a news conference.
On the afternoon of April 29, the residential and commercial buildings in Changsha collapsed. It was about the second story of a building that was six stories high, according to aerial photos. Nine people were arrested for allegedly violating building codes and other violations.
Over several days, survivors were pulled from the rubble. Just after midnight on Thursday, the 10th and final one was pulled out of the rubble 5 1/2 days later. After being treated at a hospital, all survivors were reported to be in good health.
The building owner, three design and construction people and five other individuals were arrested. They allegedly made a false safety assessment regarding a guesthouse on the fourth and sixth floors. There were also residences, a café and a restaurant in the building.
Search dogs, hand tools and drones were used by rescuers to locate missing persons.
According to state media, rescuers had to deal with a unstable pile of rubble rather than destroy in order to rescue the eighth survivor. They were able communicate with the girl via video and determine that one of her legs had become trapped before they arrived at the rescue. They gave her saline solution to drink.
Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, demanded additional structural checks in order to identify weaknesses in self-built buildings.
These disasters are often attributed to poor safety standards. This includes illegally adding floors or failing to use reinforcing bars. Explosions and collapsing infrastructure has been caused by the loss of gas pipes.
