53 Victims Died Due To Collapse Of A Building In Changsha China, Embassy Makes Sure There Are No Indonesian Citizens

Illustration of a collapsed building. (Photo: Pexels/Cottonbro)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Embassy in Beijing confirmed that no Indonesian citizen was a victim of a building collapse in Changsha City, China. Reportedly, 53 people were declared dead as a result of this incident.

Actually, many students from Indonesia are studying medicine at the Changsha Medical University Campus which is located not far from the scene. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic hit China in early 2020, almost all Indonesian students left the capital city of Hunan Province and so far have not returned.

The collapse of the building used as a residence and place of business in Changsha City occurred on April 29 last. Security officers reportedly managed to save 10 people from the ruins of the building, the Changsha City Authority said in a statement to the press on Friday, May 6.

China's central government has formed a team to investigate the collapse of the building. Previously, nine people had been detained for the collapse of the independently built settlement, which had the potential to violate the function of designation and regulation of building structures.

"This incident has caused the loss of human life and property. We will carry out a responsible investigation," said Changsha City's Chinese Communist Party (CPC) Secretary Wu Guiying, as quoted by Antara.

In initial investigations, the building was built six floors in 2012 and added two more floors in 2018.

In addition to apartments and restaurants, there is also a hotel in the building which is suspected of containing elements of forgery of safety eligibility documents.

Changsha Mayor Zheng Jianxin said his party had inspected 403,359 residential areas and any potential disasters had also been anticipated.