The Guardian-Apartment block fire in Chinas Nanjing city kills at least 15 officials say
February 24, 2024 2 min 345 words
这起南京公寓火灾的报道令人深感痛心。至少15人丧生，44人受伤，再次凸显了中国近期火灾频发的严峻问题。初步调查指出，火灾起因于公寓一楼停放的电动自行车，但具体原因尚不明确。在习近平主席上月呼吁“深刻反思”并采取更大力度“遏制安全事故频繁发生”之际，此次火灾无疑是一次令人震惊的悲剧。中国已经历多起致命火灾，呼吁当局加强安全管理已刻不容缓。这也提醒我们，安全意识和监管在社会建设中至关重要，不容忽视。愿逝者安息，同时期待中国能够通过更加有力的措施，有效遏制这类悲剧的再次发生。
At least 15 people were killed and 44 injured in a fire at a residential building in eastern China’s Nanjing city, local authorities said.
The fire broke out early Friday morning, officials said at a press conference, with a preliminary investigation suggesting the blaze started on the building’s first floor, where electric bikes had been placed.
The building is located in the Yuhuatai district of Nanjing, a city of more than 8 million about 260km north-west of Shanghai.
By 6am (2200 GMT) the fire had been extinguished, and a search-and-rescue operation ended about 2pm Friday, authorities said.
The 44 injured people were sent to hospital for treatment, they added.
China has seen a spate of deadly fires in recent months, prompting calls from President Xi Jinping last month for “deep reflection” and greater efforts to “curb the frequent occurrence of safety accidents”.
In January dozens died after a fire broke out at a store in the central city of Xinyu, with state news agency Xinhua reporting the blaze had been caused by the use of fire by workers in the store’s basement.
That fire came just days after a late-evening blaze at a school in central China’s Henan province killed 13 schoolchildren as they slept in a dormitory.
A teacher at the school told the state-run Hebei Daily that all the victims were from the same third-grade class of nine- and 10-year-olds.
Domestic media reports suggested the fire was caused by an electric heating device.
In November, 26 people were killed and dozens sent to hospital after a fire at a coal company office in northern China’s Shanxi province.
The month before, an explosion at a barbecue restaurant in the north-west of the country left 31 dead and prompted official pledges of a nationwide campaign to promote workplace safety.
In April, a hospital fire in Beijing killed 29 people and forced desperate survivors to jump out of windows to escape.