First explanation of hotel collapse released

A preliminary investigation found serious problems in in the construction of a hotel in Fujian province that collapsed on Saturday night, local authorities said.

As of 3 pm on Wednesday, 28 people had died.

The city has collected and preserved evidence, and taken necessary measures to secure the property. It submitted its preliminary investigative results to the investigation team at a higher level, said Hong Ziqiang, executive vice-mayor of Quanzhou, at a news conference held at about 6 pm on Wednesday in Quanzhou.

Quanzhou authorities said the city will cooperate with the investigation team. Every detail of the hotel’s construction, renovation, operation, supervision and establishment as a centralized medical observation point will be included, and the government will never tolerate such violations of the law, he said.

A total of 71 people were trapped in the building after the collapse.

As of 3 pm Wednesday, 70 people had been recovered from the debris, 28 of whom had died. One person remains trapped and the search is continuing.

According to Hong, 2,000 people have participated in the rescue work. State, provincial and the city have sent 42 experts and 821 medical workers to treat the injured. Ten were discharged yesterday and another 10 on Wednesday.

The local government of Quanzhou is organizing hospitals to treat each survivor and to ensure that each gets the best treatment available. It will strive to reduce possible disabilities resulting from injuries, said Su Yanhui, acting chief of Licheng district.

The government is also concerned about the family members of the victims and designated special staff to provide one-on-one service for those discharged from the hospital, helping them solve difficulties in living and employment, Su said.

The building began construction in 2013 and was converted into a hotel with 66 rooms in 2018. Recently, it was used as a quarantine location that put people coming to Quanzhou from other areas under observation in case of novel coronavirus infection.