A large fire broke out in a 218 meter high skyscraper in the Chinese metropolis of Changsha on Friday morning. A thick cloud of black smoke rose over the building. Several dozen floors of the building were on fire, according to state television channel CCTV.
Nothing is known about possible deaths and injuries. It is not clear if there were people in the building when the fire broke out. The large fire has now been “extinguished and we have not found any victims”, the fire brigade says in online networks. A preliminary investigation has shown that the fire first started “on an outer wall of the building”. After the fire was extinguished, the charred facade of the building was further cooled with water.
Fire brigade: ‘No victims found’
According to Chinese media, the skyscraper housed offices of the telecommunications company China Telecom. A video posted online by a local media showed that the facade of the building was covered in soot. The company said there were no casualties in the fire, according to preliminary information, and telecommunications were not affected.
According to CCTV, the office building was completed in 2000. It is therefore close to a major ring road. Changsha is the capital of Hunan Province and is located in the southeast of the People’s Republic of China. It has about ten million inhabitants.
Deadly fires are not uncommon in China due to lax enforcement of safety regulations and an increasing number of unauthorized constructions. Last July, at least 15 people died and 25 others were injured in a warehouse fire in northeastern Jilin province.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
