Quarantine facilities to be inspected for safety hazards in wake of hotel collapse

The country's top emergency management authority has launched a campaign to comb through novel coronavirus quarantine facilities for safety hazards as rescue efforts concluded in a collapsed hotel in Quanzhou city, East China's Fujian province, on Wednesday.

The sudden collapse of the Xinjia Hotel on Saturday left 29 dead and 42 injured. The last of the 71 people trapped were pulled out of the wreckage, dead, at about 11 am Wednesday, Pei Wentian, an official with the Ministry of Emergency Management, said at a news conference.

With 66 rooms, the hotel went into operation in 2018. It was designated as a quarantine facility after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Of the 71 people trapped, 58 people were under quarantine. The others include two medics, hotel staff and employees of businesses located on the building's ground floor.

"Preliminary investigation shows that this is a workplace accident caused by human factors," he said.

With violation of laws in its construction, the hotel also went against regulations in multiple renovations, he noted.

The accident also exposed that relevant local authorities failed to fulfill their duties in supervision, and safety hazards were left without being rectified for an extended period of time, he said.

The State Council, China's cabinet, has set up a special investigative team on the deadly accident. Those found responsible will be seriously held accountable, according to the law, he said.