China hotel collapse death toll rises to 8 as hunt goes on for missing 9
- Number of people rescued revised from 14 to six by local authorities after screening of new information
- No cause has yet been given for the sudden collapse of the 54-room budget hotel in the eastern tourist city of Suzhou
Rescuers are searching for nine people who remain missing after the collapse of a budget hotel in eastern China, as eight people were confirmed on Tuesday to have died.
District authorities said on an official social media feed that six others were rescued from the rubble of the hotel, which collapsed on Monday afternoon in the city of Suzhou. Authorities had earlier suggested that 14 people had been rescued, but offered the new tally following “further analysis and screening of new information”.
No cause has yet been given for the collapse of the Siji Kaiyuan budget hotel, which opened in 2018 and had 54 guest rooms, according to its listing on travel site Ctrip.
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Rescuers on scene of deadly hotel collapse in China’s eastern city of Suzhou
Images from the scene showed orange-clad rescue workers swarming over large piles of rubble. Broken glass was seen littering the ground around the rescuers, with pipes protruding from what appeared to be parts of the building that remained standing.
Suzhou, a city of more than 12 million people about 100km (60 miles) west of Shanghai, is known for its canals and centuries-old gardens.
The Suzhou government said it was “sparing no effort to treat the injured”, adding that authorities were investigating the cause of the disaster.
The Ministry of Emergency Management published footage of rescuers pulling a shirtless man with a leg wound from the rubble on a stretcher. Medical workers were waiting for the man, who appeared conscious.