Taiwan building blaze: survivors and grieving relatives demand answers
- In the aftermath of Taiwan’s second worst fire in history, residents urge authorities to find the cause of the Kaohsiung blaze
- Residents tell of obstructed stairwells, broken lifts and unoccupied floors in a building that was decades past its prime
The man, 26, who identified himself as Chen, said he was working an overnight shift when the fire started in the mixed-use building.
The fire broke out in the early hours of Thursday, destroying six floors of the dilapidated 12-storey Cheng Chung Cheng building that housed underprivileged residents among its tenants.
“I returned home from work that morning only to find that my parents died and my home was charred,” he said, adding that his mother and father had trouble walking because of illness.
“Someone or something must have caused the fire. I hope the authorities can release the result of their investigation as soon as possible.”
An initial finding by investigators suggested that the fire started in a residential unit at the back of an antique shop on the first floor of the 40-year-old building.