Covid-19 Quarantine Hotel In China Collapses & Kills 4
News that a Covid-19 quarantine hotel in China had collapsed and trapped patients on Saturday (7 Mar) night shocked the world.
What should have been a safe house ended up harming roughly 71 people who were stuck under the rubble, according to Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
Unfortunately, 4 of them couldn’t make it out alive, as rescue efforts continue today (8 Mar).
China quarantine hotel collapses and traps 71 people
CNA reported yesterday (7 Mar) that a hotel serving as a Covid-19 quarantine facility had collapsed in Quanzhou, in the Fujian province of China.
The five-story Quanzhou Xinjia Hotel fell at about 7.30pm local time, exposing the structure’s steel frame.
Shocking CCTV footage of the moment the hotel collapsed was posted on Twitter by People’s Daily.
Security cam recorded the moment of hotel collapsing in SE China's Fujian on Sat night, trapping around 70 people under the debris. So far 40 people have been rescued. pic.twitter.com/QHbmPdRkOJ
— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) March 7, 2020
As of today (8 Mar), China’s Ministry of Emergency Management confirmed that 71 people were trapped under the rubble.
Of these, rescuers managed to save at least 40 survivors, although 5 of them are in critical condition.
4 others unfortunately perished.
Rescue efforts ongoing to save the others still under the rubble
The Ministry also announced that they have engaged 200 Quanzhou and 800 Fujian Province firefighters to help with rescue efforts, added CNA.
11 search and rescue teams as well as 7 rescue dogs are also on site to assist them.
All hands are on deck, with ambulances, cranes and excavators ready for action, and more help coming from Beijing.
The hotel opened only 2 years ago, and recently served as a quarantine facility after Quanzhou reported 47 Covid-19 cases.
To have this incident happen so suddenly is thus quite a major shock.
According to China Xinhua News, the owner of the building is currently under police investigation. The cause of the collapse is also still a mystery.
Hope all trapped will be saved in time
Finding people trapped under such heavy rubble is surely a challenging task.
We salute the authorities for promptly sending help their way, and working tirelessly around the clock to save the victims.
We hope that more survivors will make it out alive, and survive the incident as well as the Covid-19 scare.
Featured image adapted from Twitter.
