Death toll rises to 11 after hotel collapses in East China

FUZHOU - The death toll from a hotel building collapse in East China's Fujian province on Saturday evening has risen to 11 by Monday afternoon, local authorities said.

Fifty people have been pulled out of the debris of Xinjia Hotel in Licheng district in the city of Quanzhou by 2 pm Monday and among them, 11 have died, said the rescue headquarters.

Twenty-one remained trapped and the rescue operation is underway.

At the time of the collapse, a total of 71 people were trapped and nine more managed to escape themselves.

A preliminary investigation showed the hotel building was being decorated when the accident occurred and the owner of the building has been put under police control.

Construction of the building, with a floor area of 7,000 square meters, began in 2013. It was converted into a hotel in 2018 with 66 rooms.