Society

Police detain 4 over Shanghai apartment fire

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-11-16 15:17

SHANGHAI - Shanghai police detained four people Tuesday over Monday's blaze at a high-rise apartment building that left 53 people dead and more than 70 injured.

An initial investigation has blamed the disaster on unlicensed welders, the Shanghai municipal government said.

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About 17 of the injured are still in critical conditions, Shanghai deputy mayor Shen Jun told a televised press conference Tuesday.

The blaze erupted on the northern side of the 10th floor of the 28-story building, said Chen Fei, director of the city's fire-fighting bureau.

The 85-meter-tall building housed more than 156 households with 440 members. The residents moved into the building in March 1998 after its construction was completed in 1997.

The building was undergoing an energy-saving renovation project when the fire started after lunchtime.

The Jing'an District Construction Corp and Shanghai Jiayi Decoration Corp were the contractors for the renovation project.

The city's emergency response center received a fire report at about 2:15 pm and authorities dispatched 122 fire engines and more than 1,300 fire-fighters to the site within a minute.

More than 100 residents were rescued and the blaze was extinguished by 6:30 pm

The building was covered by scaffolding made of flammable nylon netting and bamboo, Chen said, adding that strong winds helped the fire spread.

Battling fires in high-rise buildings is difficult because flames can easily jump to nearby buildings, he said.

Experts said China's fire-fighting capabilities are not sufficient to fight fires more than 53 meters above ground level.

Local police and fire-fighting authorities have promised to disclose more information about the cause of the accident as soon as possible.