Beijing, May 2 (AFP\/APP): One person was pulled out alive Monday from the rubble of a building that collapsed three days ago in central China, state-run television said, with hopes of finding more survivors fading fast.<\/p>\n
The commercial building in Changsha city, Hunan province — which housed apartments, a hotel and a cinema — caved in on Friday, sparking a massive rescue effort with hundreds of emergency responders.<\/p>\n
State-run CCTV showed images of a person wrapped in a thick white blanket being carried on a stretcher, with Monday’s recovery taking the total number of people found up to eight in three days.<\/p>\n
Rescue workers in blue uniforms rushed the person to hospital with television channels providing no information on their condition.<\/p>\n
According to state-run news agency Xinhua, the eighth survivor — a woman — had her limbs pinned down by debris, which made it difficult for rescue workers to extract her from the rubble.<\/p>\n
“The emergency medical team used infusion tubes measuring about 3 metres long to deliver normal saline solution to her,” it reported.<\/p>\n
Emergency workers are still persisting in the search for survivors, eschewing the use of machinery to avoid creating vibrations in the collapsed structure, the report added.<\/p>\n
At least 15 people identified by authorities are still trapped in the rubble while no contact has been established with 39 others.<\/p>\n
Changsha mayor Zheng Jianxin had initially said the government would “seize the golden 72 hours for rescue”, a window that closed by Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
The day before, a seventh survivor was found alive after 50 hours of search and rescue operations, according to state broadcaster CCTV.<\/p>\n
A one-metre-thick wall had separated her from rescuers, who located her after detecting signs of life at the spot.<\/p>\n
Changsha police said nine people — including the building’s owner and a team of safety inspectors — were detained as of Sunday in connection with the accident.<\/p>\n
Authorities alleged that surveyors had falsified a safety audit of the building.<\/p>\n
More than 700 first responders were dispatched to the scene of the disaster, which left a gaping hole in a dense streetscape.<\/p>\n
State media on Sunday showed firefighters — backed by a digger — cutting through a morass of metal and sheets of concrete, while rescuers shouted into the tower of debris to communicate with any survivors.<\/p>\n
President Xi Jinping had on Saturday called for a search “at all cost” and ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the collapse, state media reported.<\/p>\n
Building collapses are not uncommon in China due to weak safety and construction standards, as well as corruption among officials tasked with enforcement.<\/p>\n
In January, an explosion triggered by a suspected gas leak brought down a building in the city of Chongqing, killing at least 16 people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Beijing, May 2 (AFP\/APP): One person was pulled out alive Monday from the rubble of a building that collapsed three days ago in central China, state-run television said, with hopes of finding more survivors fading fast. The commercial building in Changsha city, Hunan province — […]<\/p>\n
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