Two killed after condemned building topples

Firefighters look for survivors Sunday morning in the debris of a collapsed three-story residential building in Hongkou district. Two residents died in the collapse. Photos: Yang Hui/GT

Firefighters look for survivors Sunday morning in the debris of a collapsed three-story residential building in Hongkou district. Two residents died in the collapse. Photos: Yang Hui/GT

Two people were killed after a condemned residential building collapsed Sunday morning in Hongkou district, the local government said.

A 70-year-old Shanghai native and a fruit vendor from Jiangxi Province were found dead in the debris of the three-story building, Shanghai Television Station (STV) reported. Police and firefighters rescued three others, who were sent to Xinhua Hospital.

One of the injured, a 22-year-old man, suffered a severe spinal injury, according to a report on the news website eastday.com.

The two others suffered minor injuries and were discharged from the hospital Sunday afternoon, xinmin.cn reported. Eight homes in the neighborhood were also evacuated.

An initial investigation determined that a propane gas canister exploded inside the building on Xingang Road around 5 am, just before the collapse, according to a post on the microblog of the Hongkou District People's Government.

The building's residents used propane to cook, said a resident surnamed Tan, who lived on the first floor.

Four of the building's nine residents escaped before the structure collapsed, the government's post said.

Tan told the Global Times that she and her husband heard the explosion around 4:45 am and immediately grabbed their child and fled the building.

Most of the building's residents were tenants who owned food stalls nearby, a resident surnamed Zhou told the Global Times.

Although the building, which was constructed about 70 years ago, has been condemned, it has not been demolished because several property owners were not satisfied with the compensation offered by the local government, said a resident surnamed He, who owned a food stall nearby.