China orders nationwide renovation of buildings with safety hazards

Rescue workers survey the scene after an apartment building collapsed in Zunyi, Guizhou province, on Sunday, leaving two people dead and one missing. A section of the nine-story building in Yan'an Road, Honghuagang district, fell down just before 6 am, officials said. Ou Dongqu / Xinhua

BEIJING - China has ordered a nationwide renovation of old and shabby buildings that possess safety hazards as a series of house collapse accidents have sounded the alarm.

Local governments are urged to screen buildings as the country enters the rainy season, according to a meeting presided by Chen Zhenggao, minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, on Wednesday.

Three buildings have collapsed in Southwest China's Guizhou province since May 20, killing dozens of people.

A floor partly collapsing at a spa in north China's Tianjin municipality Tuesday night killed six people.

The ministry called on local governments to increase fiscal spending on renovation and suggested the participation of private capital.