Fuzhou: Thirty-eight people have been rescued after a hotel building collapsed in east China’s Fujian Province Saturday evening, local authorities said.
The Xinjia Hotel in Licheng District of the city of Quanzhou collapsed at around 7:15 p.m.
According to a preliminary report, about 70 people were trapped. More than 700 rescue workers have been sent to the scene, and 38 people had been rescued as of 11:16 p.m.
Sources with the municipal authorities said the hotel has been used to quarantine and observe people who had come from other provinces during the novel coronavirus prevention and control.
The Ministry of Emergency Management has sent a work team to Quanzhou to help with rescue and investigate the cause of accident. The ministry urged all-out efforts to rescue the victims and emphasized the prevention of secondary disasters, while ensuring the safety of rescue teams.
Rescuers wearing masks were using ropes to pull trapped people out of the rubble, according to Xinhua reporters at the site. High-voltage power lines were lying over the rubble, although firefighters said it was not clear if the lines would hamper rescue work.
“The hotel has six floors and a cellar. When it collapsed, I heard big sounds and felt some tremor,” said a resident living nearby.
Further rescue is under way.
(Xinhua)
