AT least 13 students have been killed after a fire broke out in a boarding school dormitory in China.
The children were said to be third grade students, believed to be aged around nine, China Newsweek reported.
The fire broke out on Friday night at Yingcai School in Yanshanpu Village, near Nanyang City in Henan province, China Central Television Station and Xinhua News Agency said.
One person rescued from the scene was being treated in the hospital, CCTV, China’s state broadcaster said.
The head of the school was reportedly taken into custody after firefighters extinguished the blaze at 11.38pm.
Yingcai is a private boarding school with a kindergarten and an elementary school, said The Paper, a Shanghai government-backed news outlet.
The school gives students a break every two weeks but this was not a break weekend, The Paper said, citing several local residents.
Many of Yingcai’s students are from rural areas, it said, adding that the fire broke around 10pm (2pm UK time).
No further details about the identities of the dead or the cause of the fire were released via official channels.
Fatal fires in China are not uncommon due to lack of enforcement of building and safety standards, , The Pioneer reported.
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In November, 26 people were killed when a massive fire swept through an office block in Luliang City, Shanxi province.
Last April, a hospital fire in Beijing killed at least 29 people, mostly patients, and sparked an investigation in which 12 people were held by authorities for questioning.
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Juliana Cruz Lima
