BEIJING (AP), — Two people were saved Sunday from the rubble in central China’s building after it fell more than 50 hours ago. This left many others trapped or missing. State media reported that two people were rescued.
According to the official Xinhua News Agency, nine other people were also arrested by police on suspicion of causing a major accident.
CCTV, the state broadcaster, showed footage of rescuers carrying a woman on a stretcher around 4:30 p.m. During the operation, some could be heard shouting encouragements. CCTV reported that she was transferred to a hospital where she is now in stable condition. The state media reported that another person was taken out alive during the evening, but did not provide any details.
Seven people were rescued from the building that collapsed on Friday afternoon in Changsha, an inland city, Hunan province’s capital. Around 20 people remained trapped and 39 others were still missing as of Saturday evening.
Police also said that they had arrested the owner and three others in charge of design/construction, as well as five other people, for what they called a false safety assessment regarding a guesthouse on the fourth-sixth floors.
Photos show that the building collapsed to the second floor. Rubble was left on the sidewalk. It was one of six buildings that stood tall.
Xinhua stated that the building was eight-storey, with a restaurant on its second floor and a cafe on its third floor. There were also residences on the two upper floors. According to other media reports, it was six stories high. Tenants had made structural modifications, but the cause for the collapse was still under investigation, Xinhua stated.
The false safety report was issued by Hunan Xiangda Engineering Testing Co. on April 13th, according to police. Four technicians and the legal representative of Hunan Xiangda Engineering Testing Co. were also arrested.
Xinhua reported that there has been an increase in self-built building collapses in recent years.
These disasters are often caused by poor safety standards. This includes illegally adding extra floors or failing to use reinforcing bars.
