The number of deaths in the fire of a residential building that occurred on Friday in the city of Nanjing (east) increased to 15, local media reported last weekend. The fire broke out around 4:39 a.m. on Friday (local time) in a building in the Yuhuatai district of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, reported the official Xinhua agency.
Firefighters managed to put out the flames around 6:00 in the morning (22:00 GMT on Thursday) and six hours later the rescue efforts were completed. The fire also left 44 people injured of varying degrees who were taken to local hospitals.
Initial investigations indicate that the fire originated on the ground floor of the building, where residents left their bicycles and electric motorcycles. In a video that went viral online, a bicycle appears on fire at the start of the fire.
In recent weeks, several similar incidents have occurred in the Asian giant. Flames claimed the lives of thirteen people in a school dormitory in northeastern China on January 19, while, a few days later, other fires broke out in a hotel in Jinan (east) and in a building in Xinyu (east). They resulted in 4 and 39 victims, respectively.
As a result, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for "efforts" to reduce the frequency of these accidents and to "protect people's lives and property" and "social stability."
