26 July 2003

A school building undergoing renovation collapsed on 24 July in Beian City, Heilongjiang Province burying at least 22 people including construction workers and those in the ground floor shops.

Three more bodies of missing people were found dead on 26 July. A total of 16 people were confirmed dead and a further six injured.

The collapse was reportedly directly caused by the construction work which was adding a fifth floor to the original four storey building. The additional weight on the structure caused its collapse.