‘Extremely fierce’ fire kills 46 people and injures dozens in southern Taiwan
- Blaze ripped through 13-storey mixed-use building in Kaohsiung in the early hours of Thursday
- Authorities are still investigating the cause; witnesses said they heard a loud bang before it broke out
Another 41 people were injured in the blaze at the 13-storey mixed-use block, according to Kaohsiung fire bureau officials. They said 32 bodies had been sent straight to the morgue. Fourteen people who showed no signs of life were among those taken to hospital and later declared dead.
The fire bureau was notified of the blaze just before 3am and sent 42 units to the building in the city’s Yancheng district, according to its case status system.
It was put out at around 7am, and local police said they were still investigating the cause of the blaze. They said some witnesses had heard a loud bang before the fire broke out.
The blaze was “extremely fierce” and destroyed many floors of the Cheng Chung Cheng building, according to a statement from the fire department.
