UPDATE - China: Death toll from collapsed buildings rises to 22

UPDATES WITH LAUNCH OF SAFETY INSPECTION

By Mahmut Atanur

BEIJING (AA) – The death toll from the collapse of four residential buildings in an industrial district of the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang has risen to 22.

State news agency Xinhua reported that rescuers pulled six survivors from the rubble by the time their search was wrapped up at around 1 a.m. Tuesday (1700GMT Monday) in Wenzhou City.

They are in hospital in stable condition.

Around 800 rescuers were involved in search efforts launched after the multiple-story buildings collapsed early Monday morning in Lucheng district.

According to authorities, the structures were reportedly built by villagers.

Rescuers have been demolishing five adjacent houses “to avoid secondary disasters”.

Xinhua had earlier quoted Zhou Liqiang, a resident who has been living in the area for more than a decade, as saying that most of the victims are migrant workers.

An investigation into the collapse of the buildings is ongoing.

The provincial housing and urban-rural department announced Tuesday the launch of a safety inspection for “potentially dangerous buildings”, directing local officials to regularly patrol such structures to avoid any future disasters.