NUnauthorized welding work has caused one of the most devastating fires in China in recent years. Construction workers were carrying out renovation work on a cold storage facility in the basement of a six-story commercial complex where large numbers of people were staying in Xinyu city. Smoke and flames reached the second floor, where there is a training facility and a hotel.
The fire killed at least 39 people on Wednesday. The victims were mainly younger training participants and hotel guests. Nine other people were injured. Footage spread on Chinese social media of people jumping out of second-story windows and landing on a simple mattress in the street with the help of police.
According to Chinese state media, authorities arrested 12 people in connection with the incident. State and party leader Xi Jinping spoke of “another serious industrial accident that has occurred recently.” Xi called for “deep thinking” to “overcome the mentality of negligence and luck,” as quoted by Xinhua News Agency. According to Chinese fire regulations, welding work requires permits and construction supervision. Fire extinguishing equipment must also be available. But fire safety regulations are rarely followed.
On Friday, 13 third graders were killed
The fire accident in Jiangxi province is the second devastating fire in China within a few days. Just last Friday, at least thirteen third-graders died in a fire at a boarding school in the city of Nanyang. The children were surprised by the flames at night. There were reports of locked doors on social media. Poorly equipped boarding schools are common in Henan province and are mostly attended by children whose parents work as migrant workers in other regions of China. Currently, around 95 percent of the 1,577 private primary schools in Henan are boarding schools, the Caixin newspaper reported.
Chinese media were unable to provide further details. The Caixin article, which has since been censored, stated that the school's administrative director could no longer be reached. A family member of one of the boarders was quoted as saying, “The government people put us in a hotel here, not in the school, and we haven't seen our child, I don't know where the child is.” A neighbor of one of the victims said that the government had briefly relocated the families of the deceased children and that their homes were now empty for the time being.
Serious fire accidents occur again and again in China. In November, 26 people died in a fire at an office building in Shanxi province. In October, an explosion at a barbecue restaurant in Ningxia killed 31 people. Last spring, at least 29 people died in a fire in a Beijing hospital. “All regions should learn profound lessons,” said Xi Jinping. They should “resolutely curb the trend of frequent and consecutive workplace safety incidents to ensure the safety of lives, property and general social stability.”
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