Chinese leader Xi Jinping calls for ‘deep reflection’ on frequent accidents after latest deadly accident

Authorities should ‘curb trend of repeated safety accidents’, Chinese president says, while urging local governments to help ensure social stability
A number of college students are reported to have died in the fire in an eastern city on Wednesday, the third tragedy to hit China in less than a week

Accidents, extreme weather and disasters in China

Yuanyue Dangin Beijing

Published: 5:13pm, 25 Jan 2024

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Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on local authorities to “curb the trend of repeated” accidents, calling for “deep reflection” after a fire in the east of the country became the third deadly tragedy to hit the country in less than a week.

Wednesday’s blaze at a shophouse in Xinyu, a city in Jiangxi province, claimed at least 39 lives. Nine other people were injured, with eight of them in stable condition, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Local media said a number of college students studying for an exam were among the casualties.

Local police had detained 12 people, including the owner of the exam training centre on an upper floor, state news agency Xinhua said on Thursday morning.

It was the latest major accident to hit China since Friday, when 13 children were killed after a fire broke out at a primary school dormitory in central Henan province. Teachers said all of the victims were third-graders, or about nine years old.

On Monday, a landslide in southwestern Yunnan province buried a mountain village, trapping dozens under the rubble and prompting a call from Xi for “all-out” search and rescue efforts. The death toll had risen to 34 as of Wednesday evening, with at least 10 people still missing.

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Hours after the Xinyu fire, Xi urged authorities to “find out the cause as soon as possible, seriously investigate it in accordance with the law, and make a deep reflection”, according to Xinhua.

“[The authorities] should curb the trend of repeated and consecutive occurrences of various safety accidents,” Xi said on Wednesday night, while urging local governments to help ensure social stability.

Xu Hong, the mayor of Xinyu, a city of 1.2 million, said that the blaze was sparked after renovation workers “illegally lit a fire” in the basement of the building. The fire then spread to street-level shops and a hotel on the first floor, as well as the exam training centre.

“We apologise to the families of the victims, the injured and their families,” Xu said on Thursday morning.

Eyewitnesses quoted by mainland media said classes were being held on the first floor when the fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon, with flames blocking the only exit staircase. Videos circulating on social media showed several people jumping out of windows to escape the blaze.

The building is in an old residential area, with no property managers in charge, local media said.

Firefighters help people escape the blaze in Xinyu, Jiangxi province. Photo: via Reuters

The second deadly fire within a week sparked widespread concern online, with several fire-related hashtags trending on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

Multiple trending posts questioned whether safety checks in Xinyu were adequate.

Web users also raised questions about the infrastructure and fire prevention capabilities of the stricken school in Henan. Local police later detained seven staff.

The back-to-back blazes occurred just two months after another deadly fire that drew comment from Xi.

In November, 26 people were killed when a fire broke out at a mining company office in the central province of Shanxi, China’s coal hub, in one of the country’s deadliest workplace accidents in recent years.

Xi had then also urged officials to identify risks and improve emergency plans to “curb major accidents”.

Following the Yunnan landslide, he called on local bodies to be alert for natural disasters, traffic accidents and work safety incidents amid a cold wave sweeping southern China ahead of next month’s Lunar New Year travel period, so as to “effectively ensure the safety of people’s lives and property”.