Over two dozen dead in China restaurant collapse

The death toll from the collapse of a two-story restaurant in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi has risen to 29, according to Chinese authorities.

The Ministry of Emergency Management on Sunday said another 28 people were injured, seven of them seriously, when the building suddenly tumbled on Saturday.

It said that rescue operations have now concluded, but there was no immediate word on what caused the collapse.

The restaurant was in Shanxi province, about 630 kilometers southwest of Beijing.

Rescue workers on site

Earlier, hundreds of rescue workers in orange overalls and hard hats combed the crumbled ruin of the building, images on the CGTN website showed, with a decorative painting seen on one of the few walls still intact.

Video posted on social media by state broadcaster China Central Television showed them hefting heavy pieces of concrete. At least once, the remaining frame of the building shook but didn’t fall.

Seven hundred people were involved in the rescue operation, CGTN said.

While the cause of the disaster was not immediately clear, China is no stranger to building collapses and deadly construction accidents.

They are typically blamed on the country's rapid growth leading to corner-cutting by builders and the widespread flouting of safety rules.