Three dead in second Chinese gym collapse in months

Deaths spark anger as social media users question efficacy of safety inspections

(People’s Daily, China / Twitter)

Three people were killed after the roof of a gymnasium collapsed in China’s northernmost province in the second such incident taking place there in months.

Seven people were present inside the gym in Jiamusi city when its roof collapsed at about 7.20pm local time on Monday. The collapse covered an area of approximately 500 square metres and occurred in the basketball area on the second floor of the gym’s western side, said state-run broadcaster CCTV.

Three children had been trapped at the gym, local outlet Jimu News had earlier reported.

Chinese government officials later said rescue operations at the gym have ended. CCTV reported that three people escaped and one suffered minor injuries apart from the three who lost their lives.

Local police have detained the person in charge of the gym, owned by a group called the New Sunshine Fitness Club in Huanan County. The cause of the collapse is being investigated.

The three deaths sparked anger and criticism on Chinese social media platform Weibo, where reports of the incident have been among the top trends.

The incident at the Yuecheng Fitness Gymnasium is the second one to have happened in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province, where Jiamusi is located.

In July, a gym in a middle school in China’s far northeast in Qiqihar city had collapsed and killed 11 people. Most of the people inside the gym were reportedly young female athletes.

The probable cause of the collapse was said to have been construction work taking place at the school. Workers had stored materials on the gym’s roof, leading it to absorb rainwater.

One social media user criticised the safety inspections conducted by officials after the July collapse.

“I remember that safety inspections were conducted on various gymnasiums after the Qiqihar No. 34 Middle School gymnasium collapsed in July,” said the user after Monday’s incident.

“What was found? Another gymnasium collapse occurred in three months.”

“The collapse of the stadium in Qiqihar was not a long time ago, and there were checks everywhere after that – what did the checks do?” questioned another user.

“This is an apparent man-made disaster.”

A Heilongjiang resident pointed out that the northernmost province faced severe winter conditions on Monday.

“Before the basketball arena collapsed, it snowed heavily here, and the roof of the basketball arena was covered with a lot of snow,” a resident told Ziniu News, according to the Global Times newspaper.

More blizzard conditions are expected on Tuesday in Heilongjiang, including Jiamusi, CCTV news said, with warnings of icy roads, downed power lines and other snow-related obstructions.

Authorities have not yet explained what caused the Jiamusi gym collapse. While the province has been experiencing severe cold and blizzard conditions, it is unclear if the collapse was related to the snowfall.

Additional reporting by agencies