Shanghai building collapse: Death toll rises to 10
Local authorities in Chinese city say 25 people found in the rubble, 10 of whom succumbed to their injuries.
The death toll in the collapse of a commercial building that was undergoing renovation in the Chinese city of Shanghai has risen to 10, with local officials saying that three more victims were added to the grim tally overnight.
About half of the low-rise building collapsed around 11:30am (03:30 GMT) on Thursday, crushing construction workers under piles of toppled concrete pillars and shattering wooden beams.
Authorities said on Friday that 25 people had been found in the rubble, 10 of whom succumbed to their injuries. An earlier statement had put the death toll at seven.
The latest announcement on a city government social media account did not make clear whether any others were still missing. It added, however, that search and rescue work was “basically finished”.
![Firefighters work at the site of the collapsed building in Shanghai [Aly Song/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/047b9f9485364f48b98535d8d092038d_18.jpeg)
Medical staff were making “all-out efforts” to treat the injured, the announcement said.
Rescue personnel reportedly pulled bloodied and dust-coated workers out from the rubble throughout Thursday afternoon and evening.
The building had previously been used as a dealership for Mercedes-Benz cars, according to the national emergency ministry.
But the property had changed hands and was being redeveloped as a mixed-use arts and innovation site, Chinese media reported.
China is no stranger to building collapses and deadly construction accidents, which are typically blamed on the country’s rapid growth leading to corner-cutting by builders and the widespread flouting of safety rules.
At least 20 people were killed in 2016 when a series of crudely-constructed multi-storey buildings packed with migrant workers collapsed in the eastern city of Wenzhou.