Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, July 12, 2021. (Photo: Xinhua)

NANJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- A total of 25 civil servants have been held accountable for a building collapse that killed 17 people in east China's Jiangsu Province last July, local authorities said.

An investigation found that the deadly incident, in which a hotel annex collapsed in the city of Suzhou, was triggered by unauthorized renovation work.

Another seven people responsible for the incident have been transferred to prosecutors in accordance with the law.

The collapse took place on July 12, 2021, with 23 people trapped. Seventeen people were killed and five others were injured.