Death toll in China elevator plunge reaches 11

BEIJING, Nov 15 (Reuters) The death toll from a building site accident in eastern China when an elevator plunged more than 20 storeys has reached 11 after five of the injured died in hospital, state media said today.

The accident, the latest in a string of industrial accidents across the country, happened at a nearly completed block of flats in Wuxi City in Jiangsu province, when 17 construction workers entered the elevator around noon yesterday.

The elevator failed and plummeted to the ground, a local work safety official said. Six of the workers were killed at once and five died later from their injuries, the Xinhua news agency said.

Six other injured remained in stable conditions.

In May, China launched a crackdown on deadly accidents in mines, factories and building sites, demanding that officials and managers do more to lower the toll of injury and death accompanying the nation's economic boom.

Reuters PD DB1906