17 die as window bars trap workers in blaze
Source: Xinhua |
April 26, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Bars on windows may have led to the deaths of 17 migrant workers and family members in a blaze at an illegal garment shop in southern Beijing early yesterday.
Another 25 people were injured in the fire, which broke out at 1am in the four-story building.
The first-floor garment shop was unlicensed, and the floors above were used to accommodate workers.
Iron bars installed over windows to keep out burglars may have prevented people from making their escape.
Witnesses said people were seen screaming and smashing the workshop's barred windows in an attempt to escape.
"We saw people jumping from the building. About six or seven people, clad in pajamas, flung themselves from the first floor after kicking open the bars on one window," said Wang Xuegang, a local resident.
"It was a real nightmare. Some people dived from the top floor and never rose again," Wang said.
The fire in the building in Jiugong Town of Beijing's Daxing District raged for an hour before it could be put out.
Fire engines couldn't negotiate the area's narrow alleys, and firefighters had to manually carry hoses to the site to douse the blaze, said Wang.
"The first floor was filled with choking fumes. With no way to leave, my wife and I jumped from a platform at the top of the building," said a survivor surnamed Xu. He broke both legs when he fell.
Chang Hongyan, deputy government head of Daxing District, said most of the dead died from smoke inhalation.
The victims, nine men and eight women, were mostly migrant workers living in the building, said Wang Xin, deputy chief of the Daxing District Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Of the 17, 13 were workers hired by an unlicensed garment workshop called Yuyun and the other four were tenants in the four-story building. Eleven of the victims lived on the ground floor, said the official.
The 25 injured, including two children, are being treated in hospital.
Officials and witnesses said the fire started in the garment workshop.
Investigations showed that the building was illegally built last year by a local resident surnamed Zhang. He leased out the ground floor to the owners of the garment business.
The floors above were rented to migrant workers. The ground floor also housed the garment workshop's employees.
Gao Defa, 43, owner of the workshop, is receiving medical treatment. His wife was killed in the fire and their 6-year-old daughter is in a critical condition.
A further probe into the cause of the fire is under way.
The city's Work Safety Commission convened an emergency meeting at noon yesterday to discuss cracking down on illegal buildings and eliminating fire hazards.
All illegal buildings currently under construction will be torn down, and unlicensed businesses will be shut, said Shao Heng, deputy chief of Daxing District's government office.
Workplaces with significant safety hazards will have their work suspended and will be ordered to eliminate the hazards, said Shao.
It was the deadliest fire the Chinese capital had seen in nine years.
On June 16, 2002, a fire destroyed an underground Internet cafe called "Lanjisu" and claimed 25 victims, mostly college students.
In 2009, another fire made national headlines after it swept through one of the newly-built headquarter buildings of China Central Television, killing one firefighter and injuring eight others.
Another 25 people were injured in the fire, which broke out at 1am in the four-story building.
The first-floor garment shop was unlicensed, and the floors above were used to accommodate workers.
Iron bars installed over windows to keep out burglars may have prevented people from making their escape.
Witnesses said people were seen screaming and smashing the workshop's barred windows in an attempt to escape.
"We saw people jumping from the building. About six or seven people, clad in pajamas, flung themselves from the first floor after kicking open the bars on one window," said Wang Xuegang, a local resident.
"It was a real nightmare. Some people dived from the top floor and never rose again," Wang said.
The fire in the building in Jiugong Town of Beijing's Daxing District raged for an hour before it could be put out.
Fire engines couldn't negotiate the area's narrow alleys, and firefighters had to manually carry hoses to the site to douse the blaze, said Wang.
"The first floor was filled with choking fumes. With no way to leave, my wife and I jumped from a platform at the top of the building," said a survivor surnamed Xu. He broke both legs when he fell.
Chang Hongyan, deputy government head of Daxing District, said most of the dead died from smoke inhalation.
The victims, nine men and eight women, were mostly migrant workers living in the building, said Wang Xin, deputy chief of the Daxing District Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Of the 17, 13 were workers hired by an unlicensed garment workshop called Yuyun and the other four were tenants in the four-story building. Eleven of the victims lived on the ground floor, said the official.
The 25 injured, including two children, are being treated in hospital.
Officials and witnesses said the fire started in the garment workshop.
Investigations showed that the building was illegally built last year by a local resident surnamed Zhang. He leased out the ground floor to the owners of the garment business.
The floors above were rented to migrant workers. The ground floor also housed the garment workshop's employees.
Gao Defa, 43, owner of the workshop, is receiving medical treatment. His wife was killed in the fire and their 6-year-old daughter is in a critical condition.
A further probe into the cause of the fire is under way.
The city's Work Safety Commission convened an emergency meeting at noon yesterday to discuss cracking down on illegal buildings and eliminating fire hazards.
All illegal buildings currently under construction will be torn down, and unlicensed businesses will be shut, said Shao Heng, deputy chief of Daxing District's government office.
Workplaces with significant safety hazards will have their work suspended and will be ordered to eliminate the hazards, said Shao.
It was the deadliest fire the Chinese capital had seen in nine years.
On June 16, 2002, a fire destroyed an underground Internet cafe called "Lanjisu" and claimed 25 victims, mostly college students.
In 2009, another fire made national headlines after it swept through one of the newly-built headquarter buildings of China Central Television, killing one firefighter and injuring eight others.
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