Man rescued after 69 hrs in rubble of China hotel quarantined for coronavirus

The hotel in the city of Quanzhou had been a quarantine site for people exposed to the new coronavirus, which has infected more than 80,000 people in China though about three-fourths of them have recovered.

A man was pulled out alive after being trapped for 69 hours under the rubble of a collapsed virus quarantine hotel in southeastern China in which at least 20 other people died.

In this March 9, 2020, photo released by Xinhua News Agency, rescuers carry a woman pulled from the rubbles of a collapsed hotel to an ambulance in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. A man was rescued from the rubble of the hotel after being burired for69 hours (AP)

The official Xinhua News Agency said the man was sent to hospital immediately after being rescued late on Tuesday afternoon. Another nine people are missing from the collapse on Saturday.

A 10-year-old boy and his mother had been rescued around midnight Monday after being trapped for 52 hours. The condition of all three survivors remains unknown.

The hotel in the city of Quanzhou had been a quarantine site for people exposed to the new coronavirus, which has infected more than 80,000 people in China though about three-fourths of them have recovered. The virus causes mild symptoms such as fever and cough for most people but can cause serious illness such as pneumonia for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.

Rescuers at the scene of the collapse had protective gear and disinfectant to minimize exposure to the virus.

The building had reportedly been modified illegally before the collapse