World
Death toll rises to 53 in China building collapse
Building collapse in China's Changsha kills 53
Beijing: A building collapse one week ago in central China killed 53 people, state media reported Friday.
According to details, the residential and commercial building suddenly collapsed on April 29. All the missing had been accounted for as of 3 a.m., as the search of the large pile of debris ended after rescuers found 10 survivors.
Survivors were pulled out of the rubble over several days as rescuers used search dogs, hand tools, drones and electronic life detectors.
Reportedly, the 10th and last one was pulled out shortly after midnight on Thursday.
Intermittent rain showers in recent days may have increased the chances of survival for those buried without food or water supplies for almost a week.
All survivors were in good condition after being treated in a hospital, said officials.
Following the incident, at least nine people were arrested on suspicion of ignoring building codes or committing other violations.
The arrested include the building owner, three people in charge of design and construction and five others who allegedly gave a false safety assessment for a guest house on the building's fourth to sixth floors.
The building also had residences, a cafe and a restaurant.
Poor adherence to safety standards, including the illegal addition of extra floors and failure to use reinforcing iron bars, is often blamed for such disasters. Decaying infrastructure such as gas pipes has also led to explosions and collapses.
Earlier this year, at least 16 people were killed when an explosion suspected to have been caused by a gas leak brought down a building in the city of Chongquing.