Fire engines at the scene of the blaze. Photo: Weibo
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2122447/ten-killed-tower-block-fire-northern-china China
Ten killed in tower block fire in northern China
The blaze struck the top floor of the building in Tianjin. Photo: Weibo
Ten people have been killed in a fire at a tower block in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, state media reported.
The fire started at about 4am on Friday on the top floor of the 38-storey building, the China News Service reported.
Five people were also injured, while another 11 people were rescued from the fire apparently unharmed.
It took nearly three hours to put out the blaze, the state news agency Xinhua said.
The building is in the city centre near its commercial and financial hub.
The first four floors are offices and the rest luxury flats, according to the real estate website Fang.com.
Xinhua said early indications suggested the blaze was caused by interior decorating materials used in a renovation catching fire.
The state broadcaster CCTV said renovation workers working on site were among the casualties.
Li Hongzhong, the city’s Communist Party chief, has ordered citywide safety inspections after the blaze.
Jiang Bingliang, the head of the city’s fire brigade, told a short briefing by the city government that firefighters removed 26 people from the block, 10 of whom were later confirmed dead
Two of the injured suffered damage to their throats and the other three suffered carbon monoxide poisoning, but the injuries were not life-threatening, a city health official told the press conference.