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According to the fire department, the fire in the 42-storey skyscraper in the southern Chinese city of Changsha has been extinguished. So far, no one has been found injured or dead, the fire department said.
A major fire in a skyscraper on Friday kept the fire brigade in the Chinese metropolis of Changsha in suspense. The fire department finally announced that the fire in the 42-storey office building had been extinguished. No injuries or deaths have been found so far. According to state media, the fire, which apparently broke out on a facade of the high-rise building, raged on dozens of floors of the high-rise building.
In the meantime, the big fire “was extinguished and we didn’t find any victims,” the fire brigade said in online networks. A preliminary investigation has shown that the fire first occurred “on an outer wall of the building”.
Huge flames erupted, as can be seen in images published on online networks. After the fire was extinguished, the fire brigade continued to cool the building with water.
No injuries found so far
Offices of the state telecommunications company China Telecom are housed in the 218 meter high skyscraper. The company stated that, according to the preliminary information, there were no victims in the fire and that telecommunications were not affected either. There is no information yet on the possible cause of the fire.
The state broadcaster CCTV initially reported that a thick cloud of smoke was rising above the skyscraper, and several dozen floors were on fire. In a video published on online networks, dozens of people were seen fleeing the building and flaming debris falling from the upper floors. The authenticity of the video could not initially be checked.
According to CCTV, the office building had been completed in 2000. It is therefore located near a major ring road.
Changsha is the capital of Hunan Province and is located in the southeast of the People’s Republic. It has about ten million inhabitants.