Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Shanghai apartment blaze kill at least 53
A 28-storey apartment block in Shanghai,
China, was gutted by a fire on Monday.
The fire's spread was aided by a strong wind.
Firefighters sent a total of 122 fire trucks and
1,300 firefighters to save people, many who climbed onto
the building's scaffolding.
The fire started when stray sparks from welders
completing 'energy saving'renovations set fire
to other building materials.
Flammable materials lying around near the blaze
meant it spread quickly from the 10th floor.
One couple climbed out onto the scaffolding
on the 23rd floor before being rescued on the 19th floor.
The fire was eventually bought under control after 4 hours,
but 53 people had already perished, while another 50 were missing,
Seventy were injured, with 17 suffering life-threatening injuries.
[Survivor] "You think about it.
In this kind of situation what can we do?
"How can I get down safely?"
Shanghai, which only just finished hosting the World Expo last month,
now has a huge public safety issue on its hands.
The speed of the rescue effort was criticized by survivors.
The firefighters efforts and the rescue effort
in general were not good enough.
A lot of vehicles came, but the
rescue efforts took too long.
The head of China's Public Security Bureau yesterday
had already arrived in Shanghai to investigate,
while it was discovered the welders who caused
the fire did not have licenses.
Chinese authorities have already detained four workers.
Apple Action News.