Five dead after housing block collapses in central China
- Seven survivors were trapped under the rubble for several hours after accident in Hunan province
- Failure happened at a time when the central government is pushing to improve safety standards
Five people died after a residential building collapsed in the central Chinese province of Hunan on the weekend.
The building, which had 27 residents, was in Rucheng county and collapsed around noon on Saturday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Seven survivors were trapped under the rubble and pulled out several hours later. They were being treated in hospital.
More than 400 rescuers and 160 police from the city of Chenzhou were involved in the rescue operation. Local authorities were investigating the cause of the collapse.
The provincial government said it had launched a security inspection in the province to crack down any illicit construction.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development also sent a work team to help with the rescue efforts and investigation.
The collapse comes as the central government has been trying to improve the country’s often-lax safety standards.