Death toll keep rising to 13 from SW China building collapse

A nine-story building collapsed after a landslide at 11:40am on Wednesday in Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province. [Photo/Xinhua]

GUIYANG - The death toll from a collapsed apartment building in the southwestern Chinese city of Guiyang has risen to 13 as of 10 am Saturday, with another three still missing, local authorities said.

The accident happened at 11:30 am Wednesday, when the nine-story building in central Guiyang, home to 114 residents, fell down. A total of 98 were confirmed safe as of Wednesday evening. Another 16 could not be reached, and 10 of their bodies have been found.

More than 100 firefighters and soldiers are still combing the debris with sniffer dogs and life detectors to find the missing people. More than 1,000 residents from 333 households in nearby buildings were evacuated after the accident.

A rain-triggered landslide is believed to have caused the tragedy, said the Guiyang city government.

Rescue work continues.