China building collapse: hopes dim for finding survivors as ‘golden’ window closes
- ‘Golden 72 hours for rescue’ following Friday’s tragedy closed on Monday afternoon
- At least 16 people have been identified as trapped. No contact established as yet with 39 others
The six-storey building in the city of Changsha, Hunan province, housed residential flats, a hotel and a cinema. It caved in last Friday, sparking a massive rescue effort with hundreds of emergency workers.
There has been no official confirmation of any rescues since a seventh survivor was pulled from the rubble on Sunday afternoon, leaving at least 16 people authorities have identified as trapped. No contact has been established with 39 others.
Changsha mayor Zheng Jianxin had said the government would “seize the golden 72 hours for rescue”, a window that closed on Monday afternoon.
The seventh person was rescued more than 50 hours into the search effort, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
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A 1 metre (3.2 feet) thick wall had separated the survivor from rescuers, who located her after detecting signs of life at the spot on Sunday.