A fire yesterday killed at least 17 people in a building crowded with migrant workers on the fringe of Beijing and the government vowed to track down those responsible for the blaze in what one official said was an illegal building.
The deaths were a reminder that even in Beijing, rural migrant workers can live in sweatshop conditions starkly at odds with the city’s image of secure prosperity.
The early morning fire engulfed a four-story building in Daxing District, an area in the south of Beijing crammed with small factories, workshops and crumbling apartments rented by migrant workers. The fire also injured 24 people, Xinhua news agency reported, citing police.
The Chinese Communist Party is anxious about any accidents that could unsettle the public, especially in the capital, and city leaders rushed to the scene, where close to 200 firefighters and police put out the flames.
The victims all appeared to be migrants workers who died of asphyxiation, Chang Hongyan, a fire safety official in Daxing, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
Chang described the building as an “illegal dwelling.”
The first floor, where the fire appeared to have broken out and where all the deaths occurred, was rented out for a garment workshop, with a workers’ dormitory at the back.
“Initial checks have established that the garment workshop was not registered with industry and commerce {authorities], and was operating illegally,” Xinhua said, citing Chang.
The city’s party secretary, Liu Qi (劉淇), and Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong (郭金龍) told investigators to “rapidly establish the cause,” Xinhua said.
Officials vowed to “strictly pursue responsibility according to the law.”
Police guarded the narrow streets and alleys around the charred building while distraught residents walked by.
The government often responds to major accidents by detaining and jailing officials and managers accused of lapses.
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