Three people died after the roof of a sports center collapsed in Jiamusi city, northeast China’s Heilongjiang province. The disaster occurred within a few seconds on Monday evening at 7:20 p.m. local time when seven young people were playing basketball in the approximately 2,000 square meter facility where daily training sessions take place. Three people managed to escape.
Four people remained under the rubble, one of whom survived and is in a stable condition. The likely cause of the collapse, according to local authorities, was accumulation of snow on the roof of the building. Another video widely shared on Chinese social media shows a woman running toward the building on an icy street and screaming, “My son! My son is here.”
The sports center is owned by a Huanan County company whose manager was arrested by police. The cause of the accident is currently being investigated further. The Jiamusi Meteorological Observatory had issued a red blizzard alert at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, warning that the blizzard would continue until Tuesday morning.
As news of the disaster spread online last night, many Chinese users immediately drew comparisons to the collapse of another gym in the same province earlier this year, which killed 11 people. In July, the concrete roof of a school gymnasium in the city of Qiqihar suddenly collapsed after days of heavy rain. Investigators later discovered that the roof had been compromised by construction materials left behind by contractors, and inspections were conducted on other buildings in the area following the tragedy.