Building Fire Takes 46 Lives in Taiwan
2021-10-15
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1A nighttime building fire in southern Taiwan that took hours to bring under control killed 46 people Thursday.
2Officials in the city of Kaohsiung said at least 41 people were injured.
3The fire started early Thursday morning local time.
4A statement by the fire department described it as "extremely fierce."
5Flames and smoke poured from the lower floors as firefighters tried to control the fire.
6The number of dead rose during the day as rescue workers searched the building which combined businesses and homes.
7By late afternoon, officials confirmed 32 people had died, while 14 people, who showed no signs of life, were among 55 taken to the hospital.
8In Taiwan, official confirmation of a death is made at the hospital.
9Firefighters could be seen spraying water into the middle floors of the 13-floor building.
10One woman, who was not identified, said on Taiwanese television that her 60-to-70 year old parents were still inside as rescue efforts continued.
11Taiwan's Central News Agency reported that officials said the building's age and waste blocking many areas made search and rescue efforts more difficult.
12Many of the people living in the 40-year-old building were retired and lived alone in apartments as small as 13 square meters, local media reported.
13The building had 120 living spaces on the upper floors.
14It also had a closed movie theater, disused restaurants and karaoke businesses below them, the Central News Agency said.
15Mayor Chen Chi-mai said the building was partly abandoned.
16The United Daily News, a major newspaper, said fire extinguishers had been put in place last month.
17But there were only three on each floor because the residents could not pay for more.
18The fire appeared to have started on the ground floor.
19Investigators were examining a first-floor tea shop whose owner reportedly fought with his girlfriend the day before.
20They had not ruled out that the fire may have been set on purpose, The United Daily News reported.
21In 1995, a fire at a nightclub in Taiwan's third-largest city of Taichung killed 64 people.
22It was the country's deadliest such disaster in recent times.
23I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1A nighttime building fire in southern Taiwan that took hours to bring under control killed 46 people Thursday. 2Officials in the city of Kaohsiung said at least 41 people were injured. 3The fire started early Thursday morning local time. A statement by the fire department described it as "extremely fierce." Flames and smoke poured from the lower floors as firefighters tried to control the fire. 4The number of dead rose during the day as rescue workers searched the building which combined businesses and homes. By late afternoon, officials confirmed 32 people had died, while 14 people, who showed no signs of life, were among 55 taken to the hospital. In Taiwan, official confirmation of a death is made at the hospital. 5Firefighters could be seen spraying water into the middle floors of the 13-floor building. One woman, who was not identified, said on Taiwanese television that her 60-to-70 year old parents were still inside as rescue efforts continued. 6Taiwan's Central News Agency reported that officials said the building's age and waste blocking many areas made search and rescue efforts more difficult. 7Many of the people living in the 40-year-old building were retired and lived alone in apartments as small as 13 square meters, local media reported. The building had 120 living spaces on the upper floors. It also had a closed movie theater, disused restaurants and karaoke businesses below them, the Central News Agency said. Mayor Chen Chi-mai said the building was partly abandoned. 8The United Daily News, a major newspaper, said fire extinguishers had been put in place last month. But there were only three on each floor because the residents could not pay for more. 9The fire appeared to have started on the ground floor. 10Investigators were examining a first-floor tea shop whose owner reportedly fought with his girlfriend the day before. They had not ruled out that the fire may have been set on purpose, The United Daily News reported. 11In 1995, a fire at a nightclub in Taiwan's third-largest city of Taichung killed 64 people. It was the country's deadliest such disaster in recent times. 12I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 13Huizhong Wu reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English with additional material from Reuters. Susan Shand was the editor. 14___________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16apartment -n. a room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live which people pay to use but usually do not own 17karaoke -n. a form of entertainment in which a device plays the music of popular songs and people sing the words to the songs they choose 18abandoned -adj. not taken care of; no longer used or kept up 19fire extinguisher -n. a metal container filled with chemicals that is used to put out a fire 20nightclub -n. a business that is open at night, has music, dancing and usually serves alcohol and food 21We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.