A survivor from the crumbling building in the city of Changsha was found under debris six days (132 hrs) following the fall of the building. The anonymous 21- year-old woman was in bed when the rear of the building, which contained flats and businesses, caved in last Friday afternoon. The Global Times reports she had fallen four floors, but some walls did not collapse entirely, forming a triangle above her head. The Global Times reports she had fallen four floors, but some walls did not collapse entirely, forming a triangle above her head.
More and more survivors are getting found through traditional searching methods of dogs and calling to see if anyone answers, begging for help. On Friday, rescuers were able to save seven people. On Saturday, more survivors were rescued, with about twenty others remaining trapped in the rubble, and another thirty-nine, not being accounted for as of Saturday night. On Sunday, two survivors were able to escape.
As survivors continue to emerge with resilience, a wide range of concerns are surging through the streets of China and via Social Media. Weak safety and construction standards and corruption among local officials have led to several building collapses in China. Following an increase in the number of collapses of self-built buildings in recent years, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Saturday that it was necessary to check such structures for any hidden dangers and fix them to prevent major accidents.
Changsha police said the building’s owner and three people responsible for construction and design were detained over the collapse. In a post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, police said they were suspected of “major responsibility for an accident.” Another five people who work at a private building inspection firm were also detained on suspicion of providing “a false safety report” on April 13. The nine arrested included both the legal representative of the company and four technicians suspected of delivering the assessment.
In a Saturday meeting, China’s Minister of Emergency Management, Huang Ming, urged officials to eliminate all types of hidden safety risks. Although there is no set cause for the building’s collapse, many blame the government for not adequately protecting its people. Authorities in China often blame such disasters on a lack of adherence to safety standards, such as the illegal addition of extra floors. However, blame can also lie at the feet of the residents of the building. State broadcaster CCTV reported that people living in the building had made structural changes to the premises; the exact cause of the collapse is still being investigated.
As survivors continue to emerge from the rubble of what is broken government standards, China is forced to face the harsh truth and the possibility of accepting fault. Many underdeveloped and Western countries alike are watching how China handles owning up to its mistakes.
