A fire at a kindergarten and elementary school dormitory in central China has killed 13 people, Chinese state media reported on Saturday.
A 14th person was treated for injuries at a hospital after the fire broke out on Friday night, China Central Television said. According to television reports, the fire department was dispatched at 11 p.m., and the fire was extinguished by 11:38 a.m., with the principal taken into custody. The CCTV report did not provide further details, including whether there were children among the dead.
A teacher at the school told the online media Zongran News that all the victims were in the same third-grade class. The teacher’s name was not disclosed. Zonglan News is affiliated with Hebei Daily Group, a state-run publication.
It was not immediately clear whether all students at the school were boarders or how large the dorms were. Calls to the school Saturday morning went unanswered.
News of the fire became the second most searched topic online, with 160 million views on China’s most popular social media platform Weibo on Saturday.
Many online expressed sympathy for the families of the victims and called for a full and transparent explanation of the disaster. One commenter wrote: “It’s truly shocking that something like this happened at a school where every effort should be made to ensure safety.”
The school, known as Dushu Zhenying Talent School, is located in Fangcheng County, central Henan Province, and is privately owned. The school recently invested the equivalent of more than $1.4 million in “school construction and beautification,” according to a post on its official social media account several years ago. It is located on 35 acres and includes athletic fields and basketball courts. The school has received praise from local authorities.
The kindergarten charges a monthly tuition fee of $25, according to the local government’s education website. According to official statistics, the average annual disposable income of Fangcheng County residents was $3,372 in 2022.
Li Yu Contributed to research.