Twenty-nine people were killed and seven seriously injured when a restaurant collapsed in northern China’s Shanxi province, the country’s emergencies ministry media said on Sunday.

The building collapsed at 9.40am on Saturday in Xiangfen county in the southwest of Shanxi, the ministry of emergency management said in a statement.

The accident in the two-storey structure occurred as villagers and relatives gathered for a birthday party, and the rescue operation ended early on Sunday, state media said.

Fifty-seven people were pulled from the debris, with 29 confirmed dead, while 21 suffered minor injuries.

The Shanxi provincial government has set up a high-level team to investigate the accident in the county, which is under the jurisdiction of the city of Linfen, the emergency management ministry said.