At least two people died in the collapse of an eight-story building in central China, the official Xinhua news agency announced on Tuesday (May 3rd), four days after the disaster as searches for missing persons continue.
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"
Nine people were extracted and two died
," Xinhua reported, citing local officials and without specifying whether the deceased were among those extracted from the rubble.
Hundreds of rescue workers are taking part in the search, while at least 14 people remain trapped and 39 others could not be reached.
Hope for “
new miracles
”
State media called it "
a miracle
" after a woman was pulled alive earlier in the day from the ruins of the building that collapsed on Friday.
This is the ninth person found alive since the collapse, for an as yet undetermined reason, of the eight-storey building which housed a hotel, apartments and a cinema.
According to the People's Daily, an organ of the ruling Communist Party, the rescued woman was conscious and able to talk to rescuers through a small hole before her extraction and "
her vital signs are stable
".
Public broadcaster CCTV showed footage of a person wrapped in a blanket and carried on a stretcher.
“
Hoping for new miracles
,” CCTV wrote on its official social media page.
Thorough investigation, continued research
State media showed rescuers, equipped with heavy machinery, trying to make their way through the debris of the collapsed building, which left a gaping hole.
Nine people, including the building owner and a team of security inspectors, have been arrested in connection with the building collapse, according to Changsha police.
They are suspected of having falsified a security audit, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
President Xi Jinping has ordered a full investigation into the cause of the collapse and called for a search for the victims "
at any cost
", according to state media.
This type of disaster occurs quite frequently in China, due to poor compliance with safety rules and a certain laxity of the services supposed to ensure their proper application.
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In January, an explosion probably triggered by a gas leak hit a building in the municipality of Chongqing, located some 1,700 kilometers west of Shanghai, killing at least 16 people.
The explosion of a gas pipe in June 2021 killed 25 people in a residential area of Shiyan, in central Hubei province.
In the same month, 18 people were killed in a fire at a martial arts school in central Henan province.
Most of the victims were boarding school students, between the ages of 7 and 16, according to state media.
