Couple rescues 68 from midnight building collapse

A seven-storey building in Zunyi city, Southwest China's Guizhou province, collapse at midnight, June 10, 2015. [Photo/chinanews.com]

A couple who discovered cracks in their apartment walls during the middle of the night, lead over 60 neighbors to safety just before the building collapsed.

At 1 am on Tuesday, Luo Kaisu and husband Ji Yuankui noticed cracks on their sixth-storey apartment walls, from which plaster had started to fall. Immediately on alert, the pair rushed to wake up their neighbors.

They had to make repeated rounds in order to convince residents of the imminent danger.

Thanks to the pair, all 68 residents in the seven-storey building in Zunyi city, Guizhou province in southwest China, had a lucky escape.

The building collapsed half an hour after the last person was evacuated.

While Ji is a construction worker, Luo used to run a grocery store on the first floor of the block.

The local government is currently accommodating the homeless residents, including Luo and Ji, while investigations remain underway.