China

2-Story Restaurant Collapses in China, Killing 17 People

The cause of the collapse was not immediately clear

Rescuers search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed hotel on March 8, 2020 in Quanzhou, Fujian Province of China
Zhang Bin/China News Service via Getty Images

Seventeen people were killed in China after a two-story restaurant collapsed during a gathering Saturday morning, state media said.

The official Xinhua News Agency said 28 other people were injured in the accident, including seven in serious condition.

The restaurant was in Shanxi province's Xiangfen county, about 630 kilometers (400 miles) southwest of Beijing.

The cause of the collapse was not immediately clear.

Hundreds of rescue workers, wearing hardhats and face masks, searched for trapped people in a daylong operation.

Video posted on social media by state broadcaster China Central Television showed them hefting heavy pieces of concrete. At least once, the remaining frame of the building shook but didn’t fall.

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This story has been corrected to show that seven of the injured were in serious condition.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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