image source,Supplied
Screenshots of videos taken by residents
A fire broke out in a high-rise residential building in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, China, on Thursday night (November 24). Chinese state media reported that 10 people were killed and nine injured in the fire.
According to reports, the fire was caused by a fire on the wiring board. The fire started on the 15th floor, then spread to the 17th floor, and the smoke spread to the 21st floor.
The fire was extinguished about three hours later, reports said.
Chinese state media reports also said that the Jixiangyuan community where the fire broke out is a low-risk area for the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and residents can go downstairs for activities.
As most of Urumqi has been under lockdown since August 10 due to the epidemic, many people on Chinese social media questioned whether the lockdown hindered the rescue, and expressed anger and dissatisfaction.
Multiple network segments showed that some fire trucks could only spray water remotely because they were suspected of being unable to get close to the fire. There are also pictures showing staff in white protective clothing appearing to be urgently breaking down fences and roadblocks.
A resident of the community where the incident occurred confirmed the authenticity of these videos to the BBC.
image source,Reuters
Urumqi has adopted strict epidemic prevention and control measures since August
online questioning and discussion
The news of the fire in a high-rise building in Urumqi has aroused widespread concern and discussion on the Chinese Internet.
As of the afternoon of Friday (25th), topics related to the fire had been read more than 800 million times online. Many netizens asked the authorities to disclose whether the residents of the accident high-rise buildings were able to escape.
A netizen commented on Weibo demanding a thorough investigation into whether the fire escape was unblocked, saying, “The price is too heavy” and “every tragedy is worse than Omicron.”
A resident of a community near the fire told the BBC that his community is a low-risk community, but he only has “one to two hours of free activity time” every day. He “dare not go downstairs at other times because it is against the law.” of”.
He said he had been told to stay home since August 7.
The resident also said he was worried about a similar emergency.
Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of the Chinese official media Global Times, posted on Weibo that whether the epidemic prevention and control hindered the rescue “requires an official investigation and appraisal”, but Urumqi “such a long-term lockdown is obviously unreasonable and surpasses people’s The limits of what the body and mind can bear.”
He also said that under such circumstances, “the public will naturally associate all the bad things that happen in this city with prevention and control, no matter how strong or weak the actual relationship between them is, and use this to blame prevention and control.”
The lack or lax enforcement of safety standards in China has led to frequent fires.
Earlier this week, a fire at a factory building in Anyang, Henan Province killed 38 people. The accident was one of the deadliest fires in recent years in China.
Chinese state media attributed the fire to illegal electric welding operations.
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