Three people were killed and one injured after a structural collapse at a fitness club in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, local officials said.
Government officials and state media said yesterday that seven people were in the Yuecheng Fitness Gymnasium in Jiamusi city, Huanan county, when it collapsed late on Monday.
Officials said rescue operations have ended.
Initial reports said three people, possibly children, were at the venue or trapped inside when it collapsed. State media said the incident occurred at 7.20pm local time.
According to a local resident, the collapsed gymnasium is a basketball arena where youth basketball training is held, Global Times reported late Monday.
Video images on social media showed a concrete structure caved in and covered by snowfall.
Another video from The Paper showed a woman running toward the area while crying and shouting “my son is still inside”.
The venue where the accident occurred belongs to the New Sunshine Fitness Club in Huanan County, according to the county government.
The cause of the accident is under investigation, officials said, and the person in charge of the gym, also managed by New Sunshine, has been detained.
It was not immediately known what caused the collapse, but the country’s northernmost province was slammed by harsh cold and blizzard weather throughout Monday that wreaked havoc on public transportation and closed schools. — Reuters
