Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, July 12, 2021. One person died, and another 10 people are missing after a building collapsed Monday in east China's Jiangsu Province, local authorities said. The incident happened at around 3:33 p.m. Monday at a hotel in Wujiang District in the city of Suzhou, the district government said. (Photo: Xinhua)

After a preliminary determination, the hotel building collapse incident which happened in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province was due to the property owner privately modifying the structure of the building, causing the partial collapse, according to the emergency rescue personnel at the scene.

A total of eight people died in the hotel that collapsed Monday. Six were rescued from the wreckage while nine are still missing as of 10 am Tuesday, local government said. An all-out rescue is still ongoing.

The manager of the hotel was detained for interrogation, The Paper reported Tuesday afternoon.

The auxiliary building of Siji Kaiyuan Hotel collapsed at 3:33 pm Monday in Wujiang district, Suzhou city.

After the accident, the fire department of Jiangsu Province immediately mobilized seven training and field support teams, six heavy earthquake rescue teams, and five light search and rescue teams totaling 654 officers and 120 vehicles to the scene, conducting search and rescue efforts throughout the night. The rescuers applied manual excavation to assist large cranes clearing obstacles. After the overnight rescue effort, as of 6:30 am Tuesday, 14 people have been pulled from the wreckage. Among the 14, eight have been confirmed dead. One without injury has gone home while five are in the hospital, local government said in a statement on Tuesday morning. Rescuers are still in search for the nine people still missing.

In the statement, the local government updated the number of trapped people from 18 to 23. It explained, "According to the hotel check-in information, 18 people were in the building. After further analysis and screening, it was found that there were five unregistered guests trapped inside, and the total number of trapped people at the scene should be 23." 

Public information shows that Siji Kaiyuan Hotel opened in 2020 and has 54 guest rooms. On Monday afternoon, information of the hotel on an online platform showed full occupancy of the rooms. Half an hour after the incident, the hotel was unlisted on various platforms.

In the collapsed auxiliary building was mahjong parlor with which was a booming business, said local residents near the scene. "The building used to have only three floors, but over the years they have been adding extra floors," a local resident surnamed Liu told Red Star News on Monday. 

The building is nearly 30 years old and has been undergoing frequent renovations in recent years. Its ownership has been transferred several times, according to The Paper.

Currently, an all-out rescue is still ongoing. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Global Times