In what can only be considered a bizarre coincidence, a Chinese hotel housing coronavirus victims has collapsed, trapping victims inside.
BBC is reporting that about 70 people have been trapped after a hotel being used as a coronavirus quarantine facility in the Chinese city of Quanzhou collapsed.
According to People’s Daily, China, 23 of the 70 people have been rescued.
23 people have been rescued as of 9pm local time. A total of 70 people were reportedly trapped under the collapsed building in Quanzhou, Fujian.
— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) March 7, 2020
A video released by People’s Daily, China shows the collapsed hotel, as first responders wearing hazmat suits rummage through the damaged building for victims.
#BREAKING: A hotel building collapsed in Quanzhou, SE China's Fujian at around 7 pm Saturday, trapping an unknown number of people under it. So far 16 people have been rescued. Rescue work remains underway. pic.twitter.com/rK7tEagQvV
— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) March 7, 2020
At least 32 people have been pulled from the rubble of the Xinjia Hotel, officials say.
Videos posted online show emergency workers combing through the building’s wreckage in the southern province of Fujian.
It is not clear what caused the collapse.
It happened at about 19:30 local time (11:30 GMT).
Chinese state media says the hotel was being used as a quarantine facility monitoring people who had had close contact with coronavirus patients.
According to NBC News Within about 90 minutes, some of those trapped — at least 23 — were rescued from the wreckage of the Xinjia Express Hotel in Quanzhou, the government said.
Here’s the video:
#Update: The Ministry of Emergency Management has sent a team to the site of Xinjia hotel, which collapsed in E China's Quanzhou on Sat evening, to assist local rescue work. The hotel is a medical observation site for close contacts with #COVID19 patients. https://t.co/44iEe8I1SV pic.twitter.com/L2ADWCrXr9
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) March 7, 2020
Sadly, we’ll never know the truth about what caused this hotel filled with coronavirus victims, to collapse.