At least 11 people have died and 21 remain trapped after a hotel used for quarantining people under observation for the coronavirus collapsed in China, state media reported.
Footage has captured the moment a woman was rescued from the rubble after being stranded under the debris for 21 hours.
As of 2pm local time on Monday, rescuers had pulled 50 people from the rubble and 39 of them survived, reported Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Rescue works are ongoing. The hotel’s 65-year-old owner is under police investigation.
Rescuers in China try to pull out a trapped woman around 21 hours after the hotel collapsed
The freed woman is lifted and carried to an ambulance by firefighters in Quanzhou, Fujian
The woman, having been given a mask, is transferred for medical attention after being rescued
The woman’s son is pictured being removed from the rubble five hours before her rescue
The 80-room hotel (pictured) had reportedly been turned into a coronavirus quarantine centre
The collapsed hotel, called Xinjia, is situated in downtown Quanzhou, a city of around 8.5 million people in south-eastern China’s Fujian Province.
It opened in June, 2018, and is reported to have around 80 rooms.
The hotel had been converted into a temporary ‘medical observation centre’ for suspected coronavirus patients before it toppled at around 7:15pm on March 7.
The building’s first floor had been under renovation, Xinhua said in a previous report.
Surveillance footage trending on Chinese social media has captured the shocking moment the seven-storey hotel crumbling to the ground on Saturday evening in the city of Quanzhou
At least 11 people have died and 21 remain trapped after more than 70 people were stranded
Rescuers carry an injured person from the rubble of a collapsed hotel on March 8 in Quanzhou
Rescuers search for survivors on Sunday after the hotel crumbled to the ground the day before
Cars are seen scattered at the scene while rescue workers continued their efforts on Sunday
Rescuers were seen responding Saturday night after the Xinjia hotel collapsed at 7:15pm
A CCTV clip filmed from a nearby petrol station shows the hotel falling apart in a matter of seconds.
Another video report from BJ News shows a 12-year-old boy being carried out of the debris Sunday morning after being buried for around 16 hours.
The boy is filmed shouting at the rescuers ‘my mum is right next to me’ as he was being taken to an ambulance with a mask bound to his face to cover his eyes, nose and mouth.
His mother was rescued at around 4:30pm yesterday, reported People’s Daily.
Pictures taken on Sunday at the rescue site showed rescue workers clad in hard hats, goggles and face masks carrying injured people away to medical staff in white overalls and surgical masks.
A rescue force of over 1,000 people – including firefighters, police forces and other emergency responders – arrived at the site on Saturday night, according to government officials.
Fujian Firefighting Department said they rescued at least three children, including one toddler, at around midnight Sunday.
Rescuers carry out an injured infant from the collapsed seven-floor hotel building in Quanzhou
Around 70 people were trapped after a hotel collapsed in China’s eastern Fujian province
Rescuers are still looking for 21 people on Monday – two days after the hotel collapsed
News of the collapse comes as the spread of the coronavirus continues to slow in China.
China’s National Health Commission (NHC) reported 40 new cases and 22 new deaths from yesterday, compared to 44 cases and 27 deaths from the day before.
Of the 40 new confirmed cases, 36 were discovered in Wuhan, the origin of the virus’ outbreak and its hotbed. None was discovered in other parts of Hubei Province, of which Wuhan is the capital.
The remaining four were cases imported from outside mainland China into the country’s Gansu Province.
The spread of the coronavirus continues to slow in China. Officials reported 40 new cases and 22 new deaths from yesterday, compared to 44 cases and 27 deaths from the day before
Of the 40 new confirmed cases, 36 were discovered in Wuhan, the origin of the virus’ outbreak
Chinese cities are gradually relaxing quarantine measures after a month of strict implementation while authorities keep a close watch on the virus’ spread overseas
Chinese cities are gradually relaxing quarantine measures after a month of strict implementation while authorities keep a close watch on the virus’ spread overseas.
As the virus slows its spread in Wuhan, the centre of the epidemic, authorities have reacted by halting operations of hospitals built specifically to house its patients.
State television reported on Sunday that operations of 11 makeshift hospitals had been suspended and the remaining ones would be out of service by around March 10, although they could be used again depending on the virus situation.
Outside of China, more than 100 nations are now battling the contagion, with South Korea, Italy, Japan and Iran among the worst-affected.
The global death toll has surpassed 3,825 and the total number of cases has reached over 110,190.