Officials seek cause of Taiwan building fire that killed 46
ABC News
Officials in Taiwan are pursuing leads into the cause of a fire in a run-down mixed commercial and residential building in the port city of Kaohsiung in which 46 people were killed and another 41 injured
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan -- Officials in Taiwan were pursuing leads Friday into the cause of a fire in a run-down mixed commercial and residential building in the port city of Kaohsiung in which 46 people were killed and another 41 injured.
The fire in the 13-story building that was home to many poor, older and disabled people broke out early Thursday and raged for hours.
Witnesses said they heard what sounded like an explosion at about 3 a.m. when the blaze erupted in the building’s lower floors, which housed abandoned restaurants and karaoke clubs.
Local media say police were questioning a female resident of the building who allegedly discarded a burning incense coil in a trash can inside the apartment where she had also stored small gas canisters. A man who carelessly discarded a cigarette outside the building and the possibility of a fire in the electrical system were also being investigated, the reports said.
