A fire tears down a 13-story building killing at least 46 people and dozens injured in Southern Taiwan
In a recent news update, at least 46 were found dead, and more than dozens were injured during a fire that erupted in a 13-story building in Southern Taiwan today, as per authorities.
The fire started blazing at 2.54 a.m. local time in Kaohsiung city in the 13-story residential building as per Taiwan’s official Central News Agency (CNA).
The rescue process at the location is still under process as more than 377 workers were deployed to the fire scene, a spokesman at the Kaohsiung city said to the sources.
“At least 41 people have suffered injuries,” he said.
In the initial phases of the incident, authorities put a death toll of 7 individuals, but the head of fire operations at the city warned that more casualties are to be expected at the scene because more people are trapped under the debris in the residential part of the 13-story building, particularly between the 7th and 11th floors.
139 ambulances and trucks were deployed to the incident location and extinguished the fire by 7:17 a.m. Around 62 people were rescued who were aged 8 – 83 years by midday.
More than 100 residents, many of them senior citizens with physical disabilities, live in the building, as per the CNA.
The main cause of the fire which erupted in the residential building is still unknown, however, the local police are reviewing the CCTV footage and said they cannot trace out human factors as the cause of the incident, according to the sources.
President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen expressed her condolences to the families of victims in a post on social media. “Facing this serious accident, we extend our deepest condolences to the victims, and we wish the injured a speedy recovery,” she further added.
