Two people died and two others were injured yesterday in a fire at a building that housed a pharmacy in Taitung City, local firefighters said.
Soon after the fire broke out at about 1am, a man in his 60s, surnamed Yu (游), escaped from the fire on his own and told firefighters who had rushed to the scene that there were three other people in the burning building.
Yu is the owner of the building that housed San Tai Pharmacy, which had been run by his family for more than six decades.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
The firefighters found Yu’s wife, who is in her 60s, unconscious on the third floor and rescued her.
They also rescued Yu’s mother, who is in her 80s, from dense smoke on the same floor, and a female caregiver on the fourth floor.
Yu’s mother and the caregiver were found to be without vital signs after they were taken from the burning building, the firefighters said.
The fire was extinguished at about 2am and all four people were rushed to a nearby hospital, the firefighters said.
Yu’s wife and the caregiver, whose identity had not yet been determined as of press time last night, were pronounced dead at the hospital, they added.
The Taitung County Fire Department is investigating the source of the fire.
The burned building is opposite ShowTime Cinema on Xinsheng Road in Taitung City. Yu and his family lived above the pharmacy in the same building.
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