At least 10 people were killed and nine others injured in a fire at a high-rise residential building in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local authorities said on Friday.
Zero COVID policy obstructs efforts to douse the fire
The fire broke out on Thursday night at a residential building in the community of Tianshan District in Urumqi. The blaze was put out in about three hours, officials said. Ten people died despite emergency treatment.
The injuries sustained by 9 others are not life-threatening, officials said. Investigation into the cause of the accident is underway, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Videos of the incident were widely shared on social media. Reports revealed that fire trucks were allegedly blocked from entering the Urumqi compound owing to restrictions under China's zero COVID policy.
Frequent deadly fires due to negligence
Earlier this week, a massive fire broke out at a cloth manufacturing plant in central China's Henan province which killed 38 people and injured two others. Preliminary investigation revealed that sparks during welding operations caused the fire, igniting cotton fabric in the factory.
In August 2015, over 170 people were killed and 700 injured when blasts ripped through a warehouse in Tianjin Port where large amounts of toxic chemicals were stored, including around 700 tonnes of sodium cyanide.
China suffers frequent deadly fires and industrial accidents which are often the result of negligence.
(With inputs from PTI)
