Death toll in hotel collapse in eastern China rises to 17

The city government of Suzhou, in Jiangsu province, said that nine more bodies were recovered from the rubble since the toll was put at eight on Tuesday, adding that the rescue operation was now completed.

In total, six people were rescued from the building, with five of them injured, the city government said.

The Siji Kaiyuan Hotel in the city’s Wujiang District suddenly collapsed on Monday afternoon.

The cause of the collapse was not initially clear and was being investigated.

Suzhou is about 100 kilometers east of Shanghai.