(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-09-07 11:06

Seven people were confirmed dead and 17 others were injured in an equipment collapse on Thursday at a construction site in Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan Province, authorities and rescuers said.

A framework supporting the lighting system at Futian Sun City, a development project in downtown Zhengzhou, collapsed at 2:00 pm, trapping a group of workers nearby, sources with the emergency rescue team confirmed early on Friday.

They said the total number of victims was unknown when rescue work started. By 6:00 pm, 23 people had been found in the ruins, one of whom already dead.

Five more peoples died Thursday evening, one in the ambulance and four at hospital, said sources with the No 1 People's Hospital in Zhengzhou.

They said the other 17 people were in stable condition.

Rescuers detected another dead body in the debris at midnight, just before they were about to stop searching.

The local work safety watchdog has launched an investigation.