(Beijing) Ten people died in northeast China after a gymnasium roof collapsed, while another was still trapped under rubble, state media reported on Monday.
The building collapsed on Sunday just before 3 p.m. local time (3 a.m. Eastern time) in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province, according to the Xinhua news agency.
Qiqihar, located a thousand kilometers from Beijing, is a city geographically close to Mongolia and the Russian Far East.
As of 5:30 a.m. Monday (5:30 p.m. EST, Sunday), 14 people had been pulled out of the rubble, including “four were extricated with no sign of life, and six others died after treatment failed,” national television CCTV said.
Footage from the channel showed the roof of the gymnasium completely collapsed, and rescue workers digging through the debris.
The rescue operations mobilize nearly 160 firefighters, said CCTV.
According to the first elements of the investigation relayed by New China, perlite – a form of volcanic glass – was used during the construction of the roof of the gymnasium.
Heavy rains on Sunday caused this siliceous material to expand and then collapse the roof, according to New China.
Officials of the construction company were taken into custody, the agency said.
Construction accidents are common in China, after decades of rapid construction in the country at the expense of basic safety rules.