Tourists ran for their lives as hundreds of roof tiles cascaded off a historic tower in China. Dozens of visitors were milling around Fengyang Drum Tower on Monday when several tiles detached themselves from the roof. Seconds later a full-on collapse sent a dust plume billowing into the sky. Tourists ran for cover, and officials later confirmed no one was injured. “If it happened a little later, there would be many children playing (near the tower) after dinner,” one witness told The Beijing News. Maintenance work on the roof, in Anhui province, around 200 miles from Beijing, in eastern China, was only completed a year ago. Authorities have cordoned off the area, launched an investigation and assembled a team to re-design the roof of the tower. The structure is composed of two parts, the original Ming-era tower base, built in 1375, and a more modern tower on top. The tower has been beset by problems. Having been destroyed in 1853, it was restored in 1995. Following roof tile issues in 2017, a specialized maintenance unit was set up in 2023.
On the evening of May 19, tiles fell from the Ming Zhongdu Drum Tower in Fengyang County, China.
Built in 1375 during the Ming Dynasty, the tower recently underwent repairs costing over 3.41 million yuan.
