Suzhou hotel collapse kills eight with nine still missing

Eight people are dead and nine are missing after a budget hotel collapsed in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou, the local government said on Tuesday.

Six people were rescued from the rubble of the Siji Kaiyuan hotel, which collapsed on Monday afternoon, the government of the Wujiang district said on social media.

Authorities had suggested that 14 people were rescued, but offered the new tally after “further analysis and screening of new information".

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Authorities have not yet reported the cause of the collapse.

The hotel opened in 2018 and had 54 guest rooms, its listing on travel website Ctrip said.

Images from the scene showed rescue workers searching for survivors in large piles of rubble.

Suzhou, a city of more than 12 million people, is about 100 kilometres west of Shanghai and is a popular tourist destination because of its canals and centuries-old gardens.

Building collapses are not uncommon in China and are often blamed on lax construction standards or corruption.

The collapse of a quarantine hotel in the southern city of Quanzhou in March last year killed 29 people, with authorities later finding that three floors were illegally added to the building's original four-storey structure.

In May, one of China's tallest skyscrapers, the SEG Plaza in the southern city of Shenzhen, was evacuated after it shook a number of times over several days.

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.	United States
2.	China
3.	UAE
4.	Japan
5	Norway
6.	Canada
7.	Singapore
8.	Australia
9.	Saudi Arabia
10.	South Korea

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Titanium Escrow profile

Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Kumulus Water

Started: 2021

Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid

Based: Tunisia

Sector: Water technology

Number of staff: 22

Investment raised: $4 million

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The Specs

Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
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The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

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At this rate, Lebanon may not survive to see its 100th birthday