China: 13 killed in fire at school dorm in Henan province
Representative image of fire.
A fire in a dormitory at a school in China's Henan province killed 13 people and injured another, state media reported on Saturday (Jan 20). The fire broke out on Friday at 11 pm in the dormitory of Yingcai School at Yanshanpu Village, near Nanyang City. The blaze was extinguished quickly by firefighters at around 11.38 pm and the head of the school was taken into custody.
The person injured in the incident was admitted to a local hospital and was in stable condition.
A report by ChinaDaily.com said that top officials from Nanyang and the province also visitedthe site after the incident occurred.
Committee set up to carry out probe
The Henan province has set up an incident management team to carry out an investigation and the afterwards handling of the incident. The Yingcai School provides kindergarten and primary grade education.
According to residents, the school is a private one with quite a few students. The school took a break once every two weeks and students were at school this weekend.
Chinese social media users on Saturday expressed outrage over the incident and called for any safety lapses to be punished.
"It's too scary, 13 children from 13 families, all gone in an instant... if there is no severe punishment their souls will not rest in peace," one commenter on the Weibo social site wrote.
(With inputs from agencies)