SCMP: Residential building collapses in central Chinese city of Changsha

[Hamartia Antidote]

Residential building collapses in central Chinese city of Changsha

Unknown number of people trapped in the ruins of the six-storey mixed-use structure.

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About two dozen fire trucks attend the scene of a building collapse in Changsha on Friday. Photo: CNS/AFP/China

More than 100 rescuers are searching through the rubble of a six-storey building that collapsed in the central Chinese city of Changsha, Hunan province, on Friday afternoon, trapping an unknown number of people.

The Hunan fire department said in a post on Weibo that it was first alerted about the building collapse at 12.22pm. In an update around 4pm, it said that some people had been rescued, but did not state how many.

City authorities said the building was near the north gate of Changsha Medical University and was a mixed-use residential brick and concrete structure covering about 800 square metres (8,600 square feet).

According to state media, the collapse sent a huge cloud of dust rising from the site.

The building had a restaurant on the second floor, a cinema on the third, with family hotels and residential accommodation on others.
State broadcaster CCTV said Changsha’s fire department sent 23 fire trucks, 134 fire-and-rescue personnel and four search-and-rescue dogs to the scene.

After the incident, some internet users posted on Weibo seeking help, with some saying that their friends – including a handful of students from Changsha Medical University – or relatives living in the building had lost contact since the incident and might have been trapped inside.

Southern Metropolis News quoted the operator of a restaurant in the area as saying a funeral was being held downstairs before the incident.

According to Jimu News, a shopkeeper near the site said the building was more than a decade old.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2022-05/06/content_78203253.htm

53 confirmed dead in central China building collapse​

A total of 53 people have been confirmed dead in a self-built residential structure collapse in central China's Hunan Province, according to a press conference held on Friday.

The search and rescue operation concluded at 3:03 a.m. Friday, said Zheng Jianxin, mayor of the provincial capital Changsha. Ten people have been rescued.

Dozens of experts from major local hospitals have been arranged to ensure proper treatment of the injured.

Wu Guiying, Party chief of Changsha, said that authorities will conduct further investigations into the accident, punish those responsible and intensify security inspections of such self-built buildings.

During the press conference, officials stood up and bowed to offer their condolences to all the victims, the injured as well as their families, and apologized for the accident.

The building collapse took place in Wangcheng District of Changsha on April 29.