Scores buried in Chinese mall collapse, Xinhua reports

December 2, 2000
Web posted at: 11:45 AM HKT (0345 GMT)

BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- At least seven people were killed and more than 100 buried when a shopping mall collapsed in China's southern Guangdong province as a second story was being added, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.

The building, containing more than 20 shops, buckled about five minutes after workers noticed a crack appearing in a wall of the mall, where the second floor was being added illegally, Xinhua said.

It said the contractor had been detained.

Hong Kong media had said earlier the seven-year-old commercial building in Dongguan city was adding a third floor when it suddenly buckled about 2 p.m. (0600 GMT) on Friday.

Television footage shown in Hong Kong on Saturday showed rescuers removing bodies from the disaster site as other workers clambered over mounds of fallen wooden scaffolding and debris to search for signs of life underneath.

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