BEIJING ( Associated Press) – The death toll in a building collapse in central China has risen to 26, the death toll has risen to 26. The official Xinhua news agency says 10 people had been rescued as of Thursday night. Rescuers have been searching through the rubble since a building collapsed in Changsha city last Friday.
The announcement came after the 10th survivor was rescued early on Thursday, nearly six days after the accident. At least nine people have been arrested in connection with the collapse of what Xinhua described as a “self-constructed building” on suspicion of violating building codes or other violations.
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The condition of all the survivors is said to be fine after treatment in the hospital. Intermittent rains in recent days have increased their chances of survival without food or water. Many remain missing.
State media reported on Monday the rescue of the eighth survivor that rescuers encountered a shaky pile of rubble that they had to work with instead of dismantling them. Before the rescue, they were able to communicate with the girl in video equipment and establish that one of her legs was stuck.
Before retreating to devise a strategy, they fed him a saline solution to drink, to which he replied, “Don’t worry big brother, I know you’ll be back for me right away,” the report said. Is.
No other information was given about the girl or her condition.
Xinhua has arrested at least nine people, including its owner, in connection with the collapse of what it described as a “self-constructed building” on suspicion of violating building codes or other violations.
In addition, three persons in charge of design and construction and five others were also arrested for allegedly giving false security assessments for a guest house on the fourth to sixth floors of the building.
The building also housed residences, a cafe and shops.
An increase in the number of collapses of self-constructed buildings in recent years prompted Chinese President Xi Jinping to call last month for additional investigations to uncover structural vulnerabilities.
Poor adherence to safety standards, including illegal addition of additional floors and failure to reinforcing iron bars, are often blamed for such disasters. China also suffers from decaying infrastructure such as gas pipes that have led to explosions and collapses.