A woman was found alive among the rubble of a building that had partially collapsed nearly six days earlier, Chinese state media reported.
It has been confirmed that at least five people have died and probably dozens are still missing after the disaster in the city of Changsha, in the central Chinese province of Hunan, on April 29.
The unidentified woman became the 10th survivor and was rescued shortly after midnight today, about 132 hours after the back of the six-story building suddenly collapsed, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The woman was conscious and told rescuers how to remove her without causing further injuries, Xinhua added.
The teams used dogs and hand tools, as well as drones and electronic life detectors in the search.
All survivors were reported to be in good condition after being treated in hospital, and it is believed that periodic rains over the past few days may have helped their chances of surviving without food or water.
At least nine people have been arrested in connection with the collapse of what Xinhua describes as a “self-built building”.
This includes its owner on suspicion of disregarding building codes or committing other violations.
Three people in charge of design and construction were detained, along with five others who allegedly gave a false safety rating to a guest house on the fourth to sixth floors of the building.
The building also houses apartments, a café and shops.
Image: Aerial photo shows the site of a collapsed apartment building in Changsha, central Chinese province of Hunan
In recent years, the number of collapses of self-built buildings has increased.
Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for further checks to identify structural weaknesses.
After the building collapsed over the weekend, he called for more victims to be found among the rubble “at all costs”.
Poor compliance with safety standards, including the illegal addition of additional floors and the non-use of reinforcing bars, is often blamed for such disasters.
China is also suffering from crumbling infrastructure such as gas pipelines, which has led to explosions and collapses.
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