The first floor of a Chinese pro vision dealer's shop in Tiendong Road collapsed suddenly on Sunday afternoon, and it was at the time feared that three of the assistants had been buried in the debris. Hongkew Division of the Fire Brigade turned out, and their handy men were able to render useful assistance. Two men were rescued, one of them pinned to the shop counter under a load of packing cases and miscellaneous goods. Another was reported missing, and at some risk of a further collapse the firemen set to work to clear the wreckage in order to find him. It was discovered, however, that he had already escaped with but slight injury. The other two men were taken to hospital, but their case not serious. The Brigade carpenters shored up the damaged floor and helped the staff to clear the stock from the ground floor.
The collapse is attributed to overloading of the first floor, and the building of an additional floor immediately beneath the roof, the strain being too great for this class of building.
Mr. J.D. Clark left on Saturday for Hankow by the str. Tuckwo and expects to remain there and at Kuling for the next four months.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.