Chinese police detained eight people yesterday after accusing welders of sparking a fire in a Shanghai high-rise that killed 53 people on Monday, as anxious relatives searched for news of missing loved ones and public anger grew over the government’s handling of the disaster.
Police were holding eight people in connection with the fire after an initial investigation indicated unlicensed welders were responsible, a spokesman for the Shanghai Public Security Bureau told a news conference yesterday.
Witnesses and building residents quoted earlier by state media said the blaze began when building materials caught fire. It then spread quickly to scaffolding covering the 28-story building, which houses a number of retired teachers as well as other families.
The city government said more than 70 people had been rushed to hospitals. Shanghai Deputy Mayor Shen Jun (沈駿) said 17 were in critical condition.
“The accident was caused by unlicensed welders improperly operating their equipment,” the city said on its Web site.
Frustration grew yesterday among relatives seeking answers to how such a tragedy could happen in Shanghai, one of the country’s best-run urban centers.
Angry crowds developed at city hospitals, where relatives demanded information about their loved ones, but were turned away from morgues, with officials saying they must first obtain government permission to enter.
“It is hard to believe the government now. The drills on TV are successful, but when a fire truly happens, it’s just useless. We feel helpless,” said a woman who gave only her surname, Liu.
She said her mother lived on the ninth floor of the building and died in the fire.
“There must be something illegal in the construction materials, though we don’t know. I am waiting for the government’s explanation,” Liu said.
At one temporary facility for the building’s residents, one middle-aged man was shouting that he was being stopped from going to a funeral home to identify his wife.
“I couldn’t sleep last night, and have been waiting hours and hours. Why don’t they tell me the truth, why don’t they let me go,” said the man, who refused to give his name.
The fire dominated Shanghai’s skyline before it was put out after more than four hours, with black smoke billowing through the sky. The government said more than 100 fire trucks battled the blaze.
Chinese Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu (孟建柱) called for an investigation into the cause of the fire. He said anyone responsible for the blaze would be punished.
Shanghai Fire Chief Chen Fei (陳飛) told a news conference that the fire started at about the 10th floor, and then spread quickly because the scaffolding was made of bamboo and was covered with flammable nylon nets.
“That made the fire quickly spread in vertical directions and nearby areas, forming a large-scale fire in a very short time,” Chen said, defending his department’s handling of the blaze.
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