At least ten dead in collapse of quarantine building

At least ten people were killed following the collapse of a hotel, used as a quarantine facility for corona virus patients, in Quanzhou City, in Fujian Province in eastern China.

The Emergency Management Ministry said Sunday that rescuers had pulled 42 people out of the rubble, out of 71 people trapped in the collapsed hotel, China International Television reported.

Ten people were reported to have died, while five were seriously or seriously injured, the ministry said, adding that nine others managed to escape from the hotel during the collapse.

The hotel has been converted into a quarantine facility amid an outbreak of coronavirus for people who have been in close contact with confirmed corona patients.

Video footage shows rescue workers searching the wreckage of the collapsed building.

Earlier on Sunday, Chinese authorities reported 27 deaths and 44 infected cases of the covid-19 outbreak in the last 24 hours.