An overloaded roof has been blamed for a house collapse on Tuesday which killed 16 people and injured 29 others in a village in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the local government said on Wednesday.

The house belonged to Yang Hongyi from Wulanji Village near Tongliao City in the eastern part of the region.

The roof beams had been welded together but the joins snapped due to the downward force exerted by a thick layer of heavy clay which covered the beams.

On Tuesday afternoon, Yang was treating about 50 villagers, who had helped him build the house, to a banquet when the roof suddenly caved in. In excess of 40 people were trapped under the collapsed beams, rescuers said, but a few managed to free themselves. Sixteen people, of whom the oldest was 69 and the youngest 23, died in the accident, said a rescuer. The 29 injured have been rushed to local hospitals for treatment.

(Xinhua News Agency May 30, 2007)