Ten Dead After Coronavirus Quarantine Hotel Collapses In China

A coronavirus quarantine center collapsed Saturday night in southeastern China, and so far, ten people have been reported deceased. According to the Ministry of Emergency Management, 80 people were inside the building when it suddenly collapsed. Nine people escaped, 71 were trapped beneath rubble. Of those, 48 have been recovered while 23 remain unaccounted for.

The Fujian Fire Department has deployed more than 1,000 firefighters and other emergency responders who continue to work locating to find survivors. Guo Yutuan, squadron leader of the Quanzhou armed police detachment’s mobile unit, said: “We are using life-detection instruments to monitor signs of life and professional breaking-in tools to make forcible entries. We are trying our utmost to save trapped people.”

According to CNN, the hotel was a seven-story steel structure, built-in 2013 and converted to a hotel in 2018. The owner began renovating the first floor in January. Workers reportedly called the owner around 7 p.m. local time on Saturday, informing him that a pillar had became distorted during construction. The building collapsed a few minutes later. The building’s owner is in police custody, according to state news agency Xinhua.