Shanghai: owner of collapsed building renting out condemned apartments  

上海倒塌民居房东疑为拆迁队长 被指有逾30套房

前天上海市虹口区新港路一栋老式民居发生坍塌，造成2人死亡，3人受伤（见本报昨日报道）。昨天，有媒体指出倒塌房屋和周边房屋已经进行动迁，拆迁队长为幕后房东，将房屋转租。对此，虹口区政府新闻科表示，不清楚此事，但警方已介入调查。[查看全文]

The head of a demolition team that was supposed to tear down an old neighborhood in Shanghai's Hongkou district has instead been found to have rented out about 80 condemned apartments in the area, reported the Beijing Times on Monday. One of the apartment buildings in the area collapsed on Sunday, with nine people inside.

The newspaper reported that many of the apartment buildings in the neighborhood are owned and leased by the head of the demolition team, who is identified in the story by the surname Dai.

A couple from East China's Shandong province said they rented a one-room apartment from Dai for six years and paid for 1000 yuan (160 USD) per month.

One of these residential buildings collapsed in Hongkou district at 4:47 a.m. on Sunday, with nine people inside. Two have been confirmed dead so far, while three others were injured and four managed to flee. An initial investigation showed that the accident was caused by a butane gas tank exploding.

The building is located within the demolition area, where 60 percent of legal residents have been removed over the past 12 years, yet the old buildings have not been torn down. The Beijing Times said that many migrant workers have moved in these buildings because of the cheap rent and, due to the area being marked for demolition, there are no utility bills to pay.