BEIJING (AP) – A building collapsed in central China a week ago, killing 53 people, state media reported on Friday after a search of a large pile of rubble ended after rescuers found 10 survivors.
Authorities told a news conference that all those missing were reported at 3 a.m., state television CCTV reported in an online post.
The Changsha residential and commercial building suddenly collapsed on the afternoon of April 29. Aerial photographs show that it is glued to about the second floor between other buildings about six stories high. At least nine people have been arrested on suspicion of violating building codes or committing other violations.
The survivors were pulled out of the rubble for several days. The tenth and final were pulled shortly after midnight on Thursday, five days after the crash. All survivors were reported to be in good condition after being treated in hospital.
Among those arrested were the building’s owner, three people in charge of design and construction, and 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 had apartments, a cafe and a restaurant.
Rescuers used search dogs, hand tools, drones and electronic life detectors.
In a report Monday on the rescue of the eighth survivor, state media said rescuers encountered an unstable pile of debris that they had to bypass instead of destroy. Prior to the rescue, they were able to provide video equipment to communicate with the girl and establish that one of her legs was trapped. They also fed her saline to drink.
The increase in the number of collapses of self-constructed buildings in recent years has prompted Chinese President Xi Jinping to call for further checks to reveal structural weaknesses.
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. Decomposing infrastructure such as gas pipelines has also led to explosions and collapses.
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