Death toll in restaurant collapse rises to 29 in north China

Twenty-nine people have been confirmed dead after a village restaurant collapsed Saturday in north China's Shanxi Province, local authorities said Sunday.

The accident happened at around 9:40am Saturday when relatives and fellow villagers were attending a birthday party banquet for an 80-year-old person at Juxian Restaurant in Chenzhuang Village in Xiangfen County, according to the rescue team.

The rescue work was completed at 3:52am Sunday. A total of 57 people were pulled out of the debris of the collapsed two-story building. Twenty-nine of them were confirmed dead, seven were severely injured and 21 others suffered minor injuries. The conditions of the seven serious cases were not life-threatening.

An investigation team has been set up to probe the accident.