BEIJING, China (AFP) — A woman was pulled out alive Tuesday from the rubble of a building that collapsed four days ago in central China, state media said, calling the rescue a “miracle”.
The commercial building in Changsha city, Hunan province — which housed apartments, a hotel and a cinema — caved in on Friday, sparking a massive rescue effort with hundreds of emergency responders.
State broadcaster CCTV showed footage of a person wrapped in a thick striped blanket being carried on a stretcher — the ninth person to be extracted from the rubble in four days.
“Looking forward to more miracles,” CCTV wrote on its official social media page.
The Communist Party-run People’s Daily said the woman was conscious and able to talk to rescuers through a small hole before being rescued, and said her “vital signs were stable.”
The search and rescue operation was ongoing Tuesday at the site of the disaster, which left a gaping hole in a dense streetscape.
Over the weekend, state media showed firefighters backed by heavy machinery trying to cut through mangled metal and concrete.
At least 14 were people still known to be trapped in the rubble while no contact had been established with 39 others.
Nine people — including the building’s owner and a team of safety inspectors — have been detained in connection with the accident, according to Changsha police.
Authorities have alleged that surveyors falsified a safety audit of the building.
President Xi Jinping has ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the collapse, state media reported.
Building collapses are not uncommon in China due to weak safety and construction standards, as well as corruption among officials tasked with enforcement.
In January, an explosion triggered by a suspected gas leak brought down a building in the city of Chongqing, killing at least 16 people.
© Agence France-Presse