By Indianara Goz
A fire that started on Sunday (November 8) spread through a 40-story building in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province in northern China. It killed 14 people and injured 38. The flames hit the Haosheng International Apartment complex, which houses apartments, hotels, small shops and educational centers, while thick smoke covered the central part of the city as firefighters tried to contain the blaze.
Timeline of the blaze
According to local time, the fire broke out at about 4:59 p.m. Emergency teams were called at 5:04 p.m. The flames were brought under control at around 7 p.m., and the search for survivors ended at 8:30 p.m. Videos circulating on social media show fire engulfing part of the structure and a dense column of smoke over the building.
Death toll rises from 5 to 14
The first official count reported five deaths and 38 people taken for medical care. On Monday morning, the number of fatalities rose to 14. According to the latest update, 25 people remained hospitalized, nine of them in serious condition and four others with injuries considered serious. Authorities said 60 people were evacuated or rescued from the building.
To respond to the emergency, the local government mobilized more than 1,500 professionals from several emergency services, along with 41 fire trucks and 24 ambulances.
Owners and managers in custody
The Taiyuan municipal government said representatives of the company that owns the property and the people managing the residential complex had been placed in custody. The measure was taken shortly after the fire.
An investigation has been opened to determine what caused the fire and whether there were failures in the building's safety conditions. So far, however, authorities have not released an official cause.
Background: why it matters
Taiyuan is a major city in northern China, and the fire affected a mixed-use building that combines homes, hotels and businesses, a configuration that makes an incident of this scale especially complex to manage. The question many people are asking is how a building of this size reached this point. According to the report, once the expert analysis is completed, the focus should shift to holding accountable those who ran the property. Meanwhile, the families of the victims and the 25 hospitalized patients are waiting for news about their health and the findings of the investigation.
