‘It Was a Sea of Flames’: At Least 46 Killed in Taiwan Apartment Fire
The New York Times
Dozens more were injured after a blaze broke out at a 13-story building in the southern port city of Kaohsiung.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — At least 46 people were killed and dozens of others injured after a fire broke out early Thursday at a large commercial and residential building in southern Taiwan that had badly deteriorated in recent years, according to local officials and news reports.
At least 41 other people were being treated for injuries, said local fire officials in Kaohsiung, the main port city in Taiwan, where the fire occurred. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, said Lee Ching-hsiu, the city’s fire chief.
Surveillance footage from a neighboring building showed a flash of light on the first floor, and soon the entire floor was engulfed in flames, according to local news reports. Photos and videos circulating online showed dazed and soot-covered older residents being escorted out of the charred building, some on stretchers.
