Now, investigators in Hunan Province have arrived at the cause of the house collapse: black construction and the authorities’ failure to check that the correct standards were met.
Nine people have so far been arrested for involvement in the construction fraud. Among other things, the investigators have concluded that the house was exactly nine stories high, despite the fact that it was officially only a six-story building and originally only had five stories.
The extra weight added by the top floors was one of the reasons the entire foundation of the house collapsed.