Beijing, July 26: With the recovery of three more bodies from the rubbles, the death toll in Thursday's building collapse in northeast China's Heilongjiang province today rose to 16, an official report said. Rescuers today recovered the bodies of three people missing in the accident that occurred in Beian city, Xinhua news agency reported from Harbin, the provincial capital. The building, part of a local elementary school, was under renovation when it collapsed Thursday morning. Six others have been injured.
The collapse buried 22 people, including construction workers and those in the ground floor stores. The renovation was to add one more floor on the originally four-story building. The addition put excessive weight on the building, and was the direct cause of the collapse, according to experts.

Bureau Report.