Fifteen killed in blaze at Shenzhen factory housing unlicensed firms
At least 15 people died and three others were seriously injured yesterday in a factory blaze described as Shenzhen's biggest fire since 1999.
The blaze started at 4.10am on the ground floor of a seven-storey industrial building on Dongbin Road in Nanshan district, close to the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Western Corridor.
It probably started in foam at the Longfei Recycling Company and then spread to two other recycling operations, Shenzhen officials said.
Seventy-eight firemen and 19 fire trucks were sent to tackle the blaze, which engulfed about 1,500 square metres. The area was filled with rubbish including plastic bags and foam, making the fire difficult to contain. It was extinguished around 7am.
Heavy smoke also flowed through the windows into the upper floors.
The officials said the 15 people who died were employees of the recycling companies and confirmed dead at the scene. Six others were rescued from the building, three of whom were taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation and burns.
Dozens of residents on the upper floors were evacuated. 'I was woken up about 4am by dogs barking and people yelling, 'Run, run',' said a man who had been working in a seventh-floor art studio.
He said there were many studios in the building and the artists always worked at night. 'We were lucky to be able to run down and out of the building in time.'
He said he had been worried about the building's safety because 'the ground floor and the stairs were filled with foam and paper'.
'We all knew the fire risk here,' he said. 'The cheap rent was the only reason we were still in the building.'
Mayor Xu Zongheng was quickly on the scene to oversee emergency efforts and lashed out at local officials in charge of fire prevention, saying most of the 20 companies in the building were unlicensed.
'The building is just by the road in the downtown area,' he said. 'Why couldn't we find its problems before the accident?
'I saw eight dead bodies in a small attic when I came to the scene - and soon saw others.'
Mr Xu said official negligence was to blame for a recent series of fatal incidents in the city, including the death of two migrant workers from food poisoning.
Zhang Zhirui, an activist campaigning for migrant workers' rights, said many Shenzhen manufacturers were notorious for their negligence of work safety. 'Employers should never put warehouses, factories and dormitories in the same building, according to work safety laws and regulations. The employer responsible for the fire should compensate affected migrant workers and their relatives.'
Mr Zhang, who is a director of a migrant workers' rights protection centre, said it was very concerned about the fire and would provide assistance to migrant workers affected by the blaze.
Two other factory fires claimed 17 lives early last year.
Shenzhen plans to launch a three-month campaign to crack down on fire hazards, particularly at recycling factories and buildings that do not have the required safety and construction certification.
