It couldn't really get worse. The final death toll from the collapse of the subway tunnel under construction in China has hit 21, with all hope gone of rescuing 13 missing workers.

After relentless searching, rescuers have been unable to find the missing labourers in the silt-filled tunnel in Hangzhou.

The men were trapped on 15 November when a 75m long section of the tunnel under construction collapsed.

The collapse caused a huge crater that sucked in 11 vehicles. Surrounding properties have had to be demolished to prevent further accidents.

"If the workers are trapped in the middle of the mire, it may take two or three days for rescuers to reach them. If they are at the bottom, it's hard to say when they can be reached," the official Xinhua news agency reported.

This is an amazing picture of the China subway collapse that has so far killed seven and left 14 missing.

Taken by the Associated Press, it shows the massive damage caused when a 75m long section of the tunnel under construction collapsed on the weekend in Hangzhou, the capital of the Zhejiang province.

The road above the tunnel appears to have collapsed and split in two, swallowing a car in the foreground of the shot.

The Haiti school collapse that killed at least 90 people and left hundreds more injured has sparked concern over the safety of many of the country's buildings.

Rene Preval, the president of Haiti, has called for a review of construction guidelines, warning it is not just schools that are in danger, but homes and churches too.

He has blamed continual government turnover and a lack of respect for the law for lax building practices.

The concrete Petionville school near Port-au-Prince collapsed Friday as up to 700 students, teachers and their families and friends enjoyed a party at the school.

Preacher Fortin Augustin, who ran the school, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

It is believed a structural defect and a lack of steel reinforcement caused the collapse and that the school was poorly rebuilt after a partial collapse eight years ago.

But even with the president's support, is it even possible Haiti will ever be able to ensure the safety of the millions who live in ramshackle slums across the country?

Petionville's parliamentary spokesman Stephen Benoit has proposed freezing government spending on cars and travel to remedy "anarchic construction".

But even he isn't optimistic this would change much. As he told AP: "We need a new city. This is one catastrophe - but we have many more to come".

In a country where building codes are ignored by builders and inspectors alike, what can they do?