Photo: screenshot from cnr.cn

Four people have died after a dormitory building partially collapsed on Monday evening in East China's Jiangxi Province. The cause of the collapse is under investigation.

At 6:45 pm on Monday, the dormitory building of a former pharmaceutical factory in the Xinqizhou district of the Ganjiang new area collapsed partially, covering an area of about 430 square meters. 

As of 4:25 am on Tuesday, the bodies of four missing people had been found, and local hospitals confirmed that none of them showed vital signs, media reports said. 

A local elderly resident surnamed Gao was quoted by the Red Star News on Tuesday as saying that six staff buildings were built in the 1990s.

"The buildings were constructed early and were of poor quality mostly with prefabricated panels instead of cement, which were not strong," Gao said.

Gao told reporters that a basement was suspected to have been built in the collapsed dormitory building several years ago.

According to media reports, the most common causes of building collapses include an unsound structure due to informal design or design errors, unqualified housing construction, and construction work that didn't observe standards and specifications. Other causes are illegal reconstruction and expansion, lack of repairs and maintenance, and improper use.

On July 12, a hotel collapse in East China's Jiangsu Province that killed 17 was due to the private modification of the building.

A local elderly resident surnamed Gao was quoted by the Red Star News on Tuesday as saying that six staff buildings were built in the 1990s.

"The buildings were constructed early and were of poor quality mostly with prefabricated panels instead of cement, which were not strong," Gao said.

Gao told reporters that a basement was suspected to have been built in the collapsed dormitory building several years ago.

According to media reports, the most common causes of building collapses include an unsound structure due to informal design or design errors, unqualified housing construction, and construction work that didn't observe standards and specifications. Other causes are illegal reconstruction and expansion, lack of repairs and maintenance, and improper use.

On July 12, a hotel collapse in East China's Jiangsu Province that killed 17 was due to the private modification of the building.


Global Times