Over 16 dead in China as restaurant collapses

BEIJING: More than 16 people died on Saturday when a restaurant in northern China collapsed, state media said.

According to media reports, the two-story building used for banquets came down in the morning in Xiangfen county, in Shanxi province.  As a result, more than 14 people died.

Rescuers pulling dozens of survivors from the rubble and searching for others believed to be trapped.

So far, 43 people have been brought out, including the dead and five injured, the report said.

Images on the media showed rescuers in orange overalls and hard hats combing the crumbled ruin of the building, with a decorative painting seen on one of the few walls still intact.

The rescue officials said 700 people were involved in the rescue operation, adding that the injured are being shifted to nearby hospitals for treatment.

While the cause of the disaster was not ascertained yet, China is no stranger to building collapses and deadly construction accidents.

They are typically blamed on the country’s rapid growth leading to corner-cutting by builders and the widespread flouting of safety rules.

Earlier, 10 people were killed and another 23 reportedly were trapped in the collapse of a hotel that was used to a coronavirus quarantine facility in eastern China.

The Ministry of Emergency Management had informed that the rescue officials had pulled 48 peoples from the rubble, of whom 38 are still alive.

Rescuers were also seen spraying disinfectant on each other as part of “strict decontamination” measures between shifts.

The hotel collapsed in seconds, with the building’s facade crumbling to the ground, exposing the structure’s steel frame.

The health officials informed that most of the people inside the hotel at the time of the collapse had not tested positive for the coronavirus.

The disaster ministry further stated that the owner has been summoned by police while investigators work to determine whether the renovation or an original structural issue was at fault.