20 dead in hotel collapse in Fujian province

Twenty people have died in a hotel building collapse in East China's Fujian province as of Tuesday morning, Shang Yong, vice-minister of emergency management, said on Tuesday.

Xinjia Hotel in Quanzhou, Fujian province, collapsed on Saturday night, leaving 71 people trapped. By 9 am Tuesday, 61 people had been rescued from the debris, and of them 20 had died and 41 were injured, Shang said, adding that the rescue work is still underway to save the remaining 10 people.

Shang said the collapse was an accident related to construction safety. The hotel was constructed illegally and rebuilt several times against regulations, which resulted in hidden safety hazards and exposed the vulnerabilities in local construction safety.

He said after the rescue work, the authorities will launch a comprehensive investigation into the accident to hold relevant people accountable.

The Quanzhou fire rescue detachment mobilized 361 firefighters from 26 fire rescue stations to the scene. The Fujian fire rescue corps also initiated a major accident rescue plan and dispatched 11 rescue teams of 853 firefighters from nine detachments across the province to Quanzhou for help, said Qiong Se, director of the fire rescue bureau of the Ministry of Emergency Management.

They have also carried 47 sets of life detection devices as well as over 2,600 sets of equipment for demolition, disinfection, communication and lighting to support the rescue work, he added.

Rescue workers have located the trapped people by using mobile phone signals, search dogs and life detection equipment and demolished the building construction parts to clear access for saving lives, he added.

The hotel was used as a quarantine location that put people coming to Quanzhou from other areas under observation in case of novel coronavirus infections.

To prevent infection during the rescue, the authorities also sent over 19,000 sets of disinfection materials, 2.7 metric tons of disinfectant as well as 117 logistics personnel to support rescue workers with materials such as face masks and protective clothing, Qing said.

Shang said in response to the hidden danger of construction safety amid the epidemic prevention and control period, the ministry has urged local authorities across the country to make every effort to ensure safety when society resumes work.

The ministry has asked for an immediate investigation into the safety risks of all quarantined buildings, strengthening of safety precautions of designated hospitals and other places involved in epidemic prevention, and the implementation of safety measures to ensure a smooth and safe resumption of work, he said.

He added that the ministry has also urged the strengthening of safety precautions in some key industries in critical areas, such as chemical plants and mines, and inspections of old and dilapidated buildings to rule out safety hazards.