BEIJING: A two-story Chinese restaurant building collapsed as it was celebrating the birthday of an 80-year-old man.
More than 100 people were attending an elderly man’s birthday party at a two-story restaurant in China’s Shanxi province when the building suddenly collapsed, according to the World News Agency.
More than 700 people from the fire brigade, medical services, police and rescue agencies took part in the rescue operation, during which 29 bodies were recovered and 57 people were evacuated.
The dead and injured have been shifted to a nearby hospital where the condition of seven injured people buried under the rubble of the building is said to be critical, leading to fears of an increase in casualties.
Police say the cause of the collapse has not yet been determined. A committee of experts has been formed and action will be taken against those responsible in the light of its report.