A building collapse in central China’s Henan Province on Friday afternoon has left 17 workers dead and 23 injured, said government sources late night on Friday.

The collapse happened at around 3:30 p.m. on Friday when workers were conducting renovation work on the building, according to the county’s publicity authorities.

Rescuers pulled 40 people from the debris, with nine said to be in critical condition, and 14 slightly injured.

According to the rescue headquarters, 53 workers started off from Nanyang city at 4:00 a.m. on Thursday to conduct renovation work to the house. But the accident occurred when they were lifting the building.

The 53 workers had been found as of Saturday, said the county’s authority. The boss of the construction team was detained by police.

Story from Xinhua and CCTV News.