9 held over building collapse in Chinese city of Changsha as rescuers ‘race against time’ to find survivors

Police in Changsha say those detained include the owner of the property and 3 who were in charge of reconstruction work

A letter, apparently written by the ‘heartbroken and helpless’ parents of students at a local university, appeals for help in finding the missing

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Rescuers are searching for survivors in the rubble. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 6:05pm, 1 May 2022Updated: 9:05pm, 1 May 2022

Nine people have been detained over the collapse of a six-storey residential building in the central Chinese city of Changsha, police said, as the search continued for missing residents.

In a brief statement, police in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan province, said the owner of the building, as well as three people who were in charge of the building’s reconstruction work, had been detained over Friday’s collapse.

Another five people, all employees of a local engineering test firm, were also taken into custody on the suspicion of providing false documents, police said.

No casualty figures have been released, but Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily reported on Sunday night that a seventh survivor had been rescued.

Another 16 remain trapped under the rubble, according to figures released by Zheng Jianxin, the mayor of Changsha, on Sunday.

Meanwhile, a further 39 people were uncontactable after the incident.