Rescue team finds 5 dead, 7 hurt after house collapses

Five people died and seven were injured when a residential building collapsed in Rucheng county, Hunan province, on Saturday.

The accident occurred at around 12:40 pm. The seven-story house had 27 residents, 12 of whom were there at the time, the rescue and emergency response headquarters at the site said.

All 12 were found on Sunday morning. Five were dead, and the others were sent to hospital for treatment.

More than 400 rescue workers, 79 rescue vehicles and two rescue dogs were dispatched to help after the provincial, city and county governments set up a rescue and emergency response team and launched a contingency plan.

The county is under the jurisdiction of the city of Chenzhou, and more than 120 armed police from the city were sent there to support rescue efforts.

A few images and video clips circulating on social media showed the whole structure had largely collapsed, with debris scattered at the site.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development sent a working group to the county to cooperate with the local rescue and emergency response team on Saturday.

The reason for the collapse is being investigated, and the ministry said it will find out the cause as soon as possible.