BEIJING - The roof of a Protestant church collapsed in China's southern province of Hunan as more than 130 people were at worship, injuring 38, local officials said on Monday.
They said 29 of the injured suffered spinal injuries when the roof caved in on Sunday morning in the town of Yuanjiang. Nine had undergone operations and were still in critical condition, they said.
"More than 130 worshippers were trapped in the ruins when a main beam gave in and the roof fell on them on Sunday morning," a city government official told Reuters.
It took rescue workers one hour to clear away the rubble of concrete tiles to pull out those trapped, he said.
Christian beliefs have flourished in China in recent years, with state-sponsored churches claiming more than 10 million Protestant members and five million Catholics who do not recognise the Pope's authority.
A municipal Religious and Nationality Affairs Commission official said there were more than 100,000 Protestant believers in the Yiyang region, which includes Yuanjiang and several other towns, out of a population of more than four million.
Estimates of the number of Protestants worshipping at underground "house churches" in China range up to 20 million, and the Vatican says eight million Catholics are still loyal to the Pope.
05:24 07-16-01
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