At least nine people were buried in the debris after four residential buildings collapsed in Wenzhou, in east China's Zhejiang province, on Thursday morning, state-run news agency Xinhua reported. Several people were trapped inside those buildings.
The government sources said the incident took place at around 8 am in Baizhangji Township of Wencheng County. They added that the buildings were about five storeys tall and were inhabited with people. The rescue teams are searching for survivors amid the debris. The Xinhau report added that still an unknown number of people were buried in the debris.
"The scene is quite chaotic, as if the place had been leveled by an earthquake," a rescuer told Xinhua by telephone. "We have to work very carefully because the wreckages of the ruined buildings are joined to homes still standing."
The police said investigations are going on to find out the exact cause of the accident.
Last year in October, at least 22 people were killed after four residential buildings collapsed in Wenzhou. The New York Times reported that the accident was one of the deadliest of its kind in recent years based on its death toll. According to 2014 report by Wenzhou Daily, the city has more than 1,400 buildings which were marked unsafe and were in need of reinforcement or demolition.
