Three people trapped in a stadium collapse in Jiamusi, NE China’s Heilongjiang; rescue is underway

Photo: Sina Weibo

A stadium in Jiamusi, Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, collapsed on Monday evening, with three people trapped in the building as of press time, local authority announced. 

According to the authority in Huanan county where the gymnasium is located, the stadium has been cordoned off and local rescue efforts have been carried out, Jimu New reported on Monday. 

The department of emergency management in Jiamusi told Jimu News that deployment of the rescue work is ongoing amid heavy snow. 

According to the local publicity department in Huanan, the collapsed gymnasium is Huanan County Yuecheng Plaza National Fitness Gymnasium, Zonglan News under the Hebei Daily reported on Monday. 

According to media reports, staffers from Huanan County People’s Hospital said that two people injured during the collapse have been sent to the hospital and both of them are teenager boys aged 16 or 17. One of them is suffering from fracture and both of them are in stable condition. 

According to a local resident, the collapsed gymnasium is a basketball arena where youth basketball training is held. “Before the basketball arena collapsed, it snowed heavily here, and the roof of the basketball arena was covered with a lot of snow,” the resident told Ziniu News. 

According to a video clip circulating on the internet, the roof of the stadium that caved in was covered with a thick layer of snow. 

Another video clip shows that a mother was rushing toward the collapsed building, crying and shouting that her son was in the building. 

The publicity department of Huanan county said the roof collapse was related to the snow, according to Xinhuanghe news portal of Jinan Daily. 

The meteorological observatory in Jiamusi issued a red alert for blizzard at 5:30 pm on Monday, saying the cumulative snowfall in the city had reached 15 millimeters in 6 hours, and the snowstorm will continue until Tuesday morning, expecting the cumulative snowfall in the process to reach 25 to 35 millimeters. 

Huanan county where the stadium was located also issued a red alert for blizzard at 5:43 pm on Monday. The accumulated snowfall in Huanan county has amounted to 15 millimeters in six hours and the snowfall is still continuing, which can have significant impact on transportation and farming and animal husbandry. 

According to the CCTV report, the location of the collapse is the basketball area on the second floor of the west side of the stadium, and the collapse area is about 500 square meters. 

Media reports also said that the government officials of Huanan county inspected on the security work of the fitness stadium on July 24, 2023.

In July of this year, a collapsed ceiling at a school gymnasium in Qiqihar city in Heilongjiang led to 11 deaths. 

Investigation shows that the construction unit illegally placed perlite on the roof of the gymnasium during the construction of the teaching complex building adjacent to the gymnasium. Following heavy rainfall, perlite soaked in water and gained weight, resulting in increased roof load which caused the collapse.

Global Times