State Council to oversee probe into Southwest China canteen collapse

BEIJING -- The Work Safety Committee of China's State Council will supervise the investigation into Friday's canteen collapse in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) said Saturday.

The accident took place at 12:10 pm as suspected gas leakage triggered the explosion and caused the collapse, according to the ministry.

As of 23:00 pm Friday, all of the 26 people trapped have been pulled out of the debris. Among them, sixteen people were killed and 10 injured, the MEM said.

A work team was dispatched by the ministry to the site to guide rescue and investigation efforts, with a total of more than 600 people participating in the rescue work, it added.