Taiwan: 46 dead in building fire
The fire broke out early Thursday, October 14, in a building in the city of Kaohsiung, in southern Taiwan.
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Forty-six people have died and dozens more have been injured in a fire that broke out early Thursday in a building in Kaohsiung city, in southern Taiwan.
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The fire left 41 injured and 46 dead,
" Kaohsiung firefighters said in a press release.
The fire broke out in a 13-story mixed-use building in the wee hours of the day, authorities said, and ravaged several floors before firefighters managed to bring it under control.
Most of the victims were between the seventh and eleventh floors, which housed residential apartments, firefighters said.
The first five floors, intended for commercial use, were unoccupied.
City firefighters dispatched more than 70 trucks to fight the blaze.
A Kaohsiung police officer told AFP the building is 40 years old and mostly occupied by low-income residents.
Five unoccupied floors
Survivors estimated that around 100 people lived in the building, according to the police officer.
Forensic investigators were on site and authorities have yet to rule out the possibility of arson.
Frequently hit by earthquakes and typhoons, Taiwan has strict building codes, but there is often a gap between these safety standards and the way they are enforced.
Old buildings are also often more likely to present a risk.
Some of the heaviest tolls in recent earthquakes have come from the collapse of old buildings, which were not designed up to standards.
(
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AFP
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