17 dead, 23 injured in building collapse in central China

BEIJING, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Some 17 construction workers are dead and nearly two dozen were injured when a two-story building collapsed in central China's Henan province.

Several people thought to be responsible in the collapse were taken into police custody after the 1990s-era building collapsed on Friday afternoon. Construction workers were attempting to lift the building foundation.

The search and rescue operation ended early Saturday. One of the survivors said many of the workers had little or no training to work on the site. They had been using a jack to raise the first floor but the equipment gave way leading to the collapse.

The official cause is under investigation.