Rescuers arrived at the scene quickly, and the flames were extinguished at 11:38 p.m….reports Asian Lite News
Thirteen students were killed in a fire that erupted at a school dormitory in China’s Henan province, local authorities said on Saturday.
At 11 p.m. on Friday night, the local fire department received an alarm about the fire in a male dormitory of Yingcai School in Yanshanpu village, Dushu town, reports Xinhua news agency.
Rescuers arrived at the scene quickly, and the flames were extinguished at 11:38 p.m.
The dormitory housed approximately 30 boarding students when the fire broke out.
One injured student is currently receiving treatment at the hospital and is in stable condition.
Yingcai School is a private school with a history of more than 10 years.
It primarily enrolls students from nearby rural areas.
According to a parent of a student at the school, after the incident, her child was brought home by village officials around 6 a.m. on Saturday, and the return-to-school date is unknown.
She said that female students reside on the second floor of the dormitory, while male students stay on the third floor.
The school has an affiliated kindergarten. Before the incident occurred, the kindergarten’s children had already returned home for the weekend.
Investigation into the incident has been launched by local authorities, and the person in charge of the school has been brought under control by police.
Cold wave to sweep China
The first cold snap of 2024 will hit a large area of China from Saturday until January 23, bringing gales and intense snowfall, the national observatory said.
The cold wave will sweep across the country’s central and eastern regions, bringing drastic temperature drops of up to 14 degrees Celsius and ending an unseasonably warm period, Xinhua news agency quoted the National Meteorological Centre (NMC) as saying in its forecast.
Heavy snow and blizzards will also hit a large part of south China from January 21 to 22.
In the wake of the cold wave, the NMC on Saturday renewed a blue alert.
Affected by the cold wave, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Hebei, Jilin, Liaoning, and many parts in southern China are expected to see temperatures declining up to 16 degrees Celsius from Saturday to January 23.
Most areas in central and eastern China will also experience strong winds due to the impact of the cold wave, the centre said.
Local governments and relevant departments are advised to take precautions against the cold wave, including some protective measures for tropical crops and aquatic products.
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