Rescuers transfer a victim's body in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, May 21, 2015. Five bodies were found in the rubble of a collapsed building in central Guiyang Thursday. The accident happened on Wednesday, when the nine-story building with 114 residents living in it fell down. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)
One more body was retrieved from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in the southwestern Chinese city of Guiyang Friday morning, bringing the death toll to nine, with another seven still missing.
The victim was identified as a 43-year-old woman with the surname Kong, according to the Guiyang city government.
The accident happened at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, when the nine-story building in central Guiyang, home to 114 residents, fell down. A total of 98 were confirmed safe as of Wednesday evening. Another 16 couldn't be reached, and nine of their bodies have been found so far.
More than 100 firefighters and soldiers are combing the debris with sniffer dogs and life detectors to find the seven missing people. More than 1,000 residents from 333 households in nearby buildings were evacuated after the accident.
A rain-triggered landslide is believed to have caused the tragedy, said the Guiyang city government.
About 48 hours have passed since the accident. According to Li Shiyong, head of the firefighting team, there is still a chance of finding survivors in the debris within the first 72 hours.
However, rainy weather since early morning on Friday might make rescue work more difficult.
