Accident site of a collapsed hotel in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, March 8, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

A hotel building in Quanzhou, East China's Fujian Province, which collapsed and killed 29, had serious problems with its construction and approval for use, a local official said.

The hotel, which was used as a COVID-19 quarantine point, collapsed on Saturday. 

As of 11:05 on Thursday, the last trapped person was found without signs of life. A total of 71 trapped people have been found, of whom 29 have died, chinaeconomy.cn reported.

China's central government sent an investigation team to Quanzhou immediately after the collapse.  

Hong Ziqiang, executive deputy mayor of Quanzhou, said at a press conference on Wednesday that, following an investigation, they found the Xinjia hotel had serious problems with its construction and approval for use.  

Compulsory measures have been taken against the relevant responsible persons related to the collapse and the preliminary investigation will be handed over to the superior investigation team, Hong said.

The construction, renovation and operation of the hotel will be investigated, including the reasons to select the hotel as a COVID-19 quarantine point, Hong said, noting that they won't give any tolerance to violation of laws.

A total of 2,000 people, including 821 medical staff members, have joined the rescue, Hong said.

Following treatment, 10 of the rescued people were discharged from hospitals on Tuesday and Wednesday, Hong noted.

Xinjia Hotel collapsed at around 7:15 pm on Saturday, trapping 71 people in the rubble.

A pillar on the first floor of the building was deformed three or four minutes before the entire building collapsed, according to Zhang Yi, an official from the Housing and Construction Bureau of Quanzhou. 

The collapsed building was used as a medical observation site for people from regions hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Global Times