Breaking News: Foreigners among 9 killed in New Taipei apartment fire

最新消息：9名外國人在新台北公寓大火中喪生

Foreign workers of currently unknown nationalities have been killed in a fire in New Taipei's Zhonghe District


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Foreign migrant workers are believed to be among the nine people killed and two injured by a massive fire that broke out in New Taipei City's Zhonghe District last night (Nov. 23), according to multiple media reports.

At 8:37 p.m. last night a massive fire was reported in a four story apartment building on Section 2 of Xingnan Road in Zhonghe District, according to New Taipei's fire department official. By the time fire fighters extinguished the blaze an hour later, two bodies were found to be burned beyond recognition, seven were rushed to the hospital where they later perished, and two suffered minor injuries, reported CNA.

The fire had started on the fourth floor of the building, but quickly spread to third floor and fifth floors, with a total of 30 studio apartment rooms installed with wooden partitions. The third floor had five rooms with an area of 15 ping (a ping equals 3.3 square meters) destroyed by the fire, the fourth floor had 12 rooms with 25 ping burned, and the fifth floor, which was an illegal addition, had 13 rooms, 25 ping of which as incinerated by the fire, said fire department officials. Fire department officials also said that the flimsy wooden partitions are a major culprit in the fire's rapid spread.

According to people on the scene, the blaze erupted very suddenly and there were many cries of help coming from the windows, with some even trying to leap from the windows to escape the flames. A bystander watching the scene unfold reportedly shouted to the people trapped inside "Don't jump, the fire department is coming soon," shortly afterwards firefighters arrived with ladders to rescue trapped tenants.

As for the nationalities and identities of the victims, a Taiwanese man in this 60s named Kei Yung-tang (柯永堂), a woman in her 50s of unknown nationality, another unidentified woman of unknown nationality, a man in his 60s of unknown nationality, all died before arrival at Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, while a Taiwanese man in his 50s died after he arrived, according to Liberty Times.

A man in his 50s of unknown nationality and a 42-year-old police officer identified by China Times as Wang Chih-wei (王志偉) both died before arrival to Cardinal Tien Hospital.

There are also two charred bodies that were burned beyond recognition whose names, gender, and nationality are not yet known.

Among the two injured were a 33 year-old-man identified as Tuan Chi-min (段繼敏) of unknown nationality and a male Taiwanese man identified as Huang Ping-ting (黃炳丁), both of whom were taken to Taipei Medical University Shuang Ho Hospital.

The fire is believed to have been deliberately set by a tenant of Burmese nationality during a dispute with another tenant.

The area where to fire occurred is known for having a large Southeast Asian immigrant community.


(CNA image)


(CNA image)