国内英语新闻:Death toll in China building collapse rises to 3

NANCHANG, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- There have been three confirmed fatalities in a residential building collapse in east China's Jiangxi Province, after rescuers retrieved two more bodies Saturday.

The two bodies have not yet been identified. They were recovered at 3 a.m. and 11 a.m., officials with the emergency rescue headquarters in Pingxiang City said.

The upper levels of a six-story building crumbled in Xinxueqian Alley in Anyuan District at around 2:18 p.m. on Friday. Six families lived on the fourth, fifth and sixth floors.

"I thought it was an earthquake. I heard a loud bang and felt vibrations," said Zhong Zhiyong, who was home with his 3-year-old grandson in their sixth-floor apartment when the accident happened. "When I opened the door I saw the stairs had disappeared."

Firemen used a scaling ladder to rescue Zhong and the child.

Of the 11 people retrieved over the past 24 hours, three were deceased and one was injured.

The building, which was home to about 30 households, was constructed in 1983. Huang Yongqing, who owns one of the ground floor shops, said renovation was underway on the fourth floor. "An old building like this cannot withstand such activity," he said.

Rescuers confirmed the injured man and at least one of the dead had been working on the renovation.

Investigators are yet to announce the cause of the accident.

"The renovation work could be one of the reasons, but we still need further analysis," said an official with the provincial housing and urban-rural development department.

He said the upper three floors of the building were made from brick and concrete, adding that there were signs of unauthorized structures on the roof.

Two cranes were cleaning the debris Saturday. "At least 100 tonnes of debris needs to be cleared, but we have to work slowly and carefully as more people may still be buried," said Zeng Xianglin, a rescuer.

He said the cleaning would take more than 30 hours.

The provincial government issued a circular Saturday ordering on building safety in old residential communities.