On May 31st, a two-story building near the Minzu Elementary School in Longzhou Town, Longzhou County, Chongzuo City, Guangxi suddenly collapsed, trapping at least 5 people. The moment the building collapsed was captured on camera, with surveillance footage showing students inside the shop when the incident occurred.
According to the Longzhou County government in Chongzuo City, at 11:56 a.m. on the 31st, House No. 106-6 on Baisha Street in Longzhou Town collapsed, with initial confirmation of 4 people trapped. By 3:55 p.m., 4 individuals had been rescued and taken to the hospital.
CCTV News reported that initially 5 people were confirmed to be trapped after the building collapsed.
Surveillance footage shows the building collapsing rapidly in less than 5 seconds, engulfed in a huge cloud of dust, turning into rubble instantly. There were many students in the vicinity at the time. Nearby shop owners reported hearing a loud noise, coming out to see that a stationery store had collapsed, saying, “I heard a bang, very loud, it scared me, I ran outside and saw the stationery store collapse.”
Netizens who were informed stated, “What happened at noon today, the ground floor of that building was a stationery store, there were children inside at the time. When it collapsed, the owner pushed the child out of the store and jumped out themselves.”
“My mom just came back from shopping and saw it with her own eyes, it was terrifying. Saw someone being hit. Already saw someone being crushed. At that time, I heard an old lady clapping and saying ‘The second floor is an afternoon care class’. Heard that there were three teachers inside, only managed to contact one by phone.”
According to “Jimo News,” a nearby shop owner said that the collapsed building had a stationery store and a convenience store on the ground floor, and the incident happened just as the nearby primary school had finished for the day. The scene has now been cordoned off.
The convenience store owner said her shop was inside the collapsed building, and she was sitting outside with her grandmother when suddenly the ceiling caved in. Despite the sudden collapse, both of them escaped unharmed.
Netizens alleged that there was ongoing renovation work inside the building at the time of the incident, suspecting that a load-bearing wall might have been compromised. However, the convenience store owner claimed to be unaware of this.
Comments from netizens included, “Even the second floor collapsed.” “The number of dangerous buildings is increasing.” “Just the beginning, there are many buildings made of substandard materials in the south, especially in riverside and coastal areas.”
“Many buildings are like tofu dregs, suddenly feeling like we shouldn’t mock other old structures because our own might not last much longer.” “There was a collapse yesterday, another one today, countless more to come in the future. Precautionary checks for dangerous buildings must be conducted in advance.”
Earlier on May 27th, a residential building in a community in Tongling, Anhui collapsed entirely, resulting in at least 4 fatalities. Relatives of the victims recalled that prior to the incident, the building had cracks on the walls and the main wall was shaking. Despite renovations, only the exterior walls of the building had been refurbished. The building had been criticized by the public for its poor construction quality.