"It's too scary, 13 children from 13 families, all gone in an instant... if there is not severe punishment their souls will not rest in peace"

The official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday that a school dormitory fire in the Henan region of central China claimed the lives of thirteen individuals.

At 1:50 PM (GMT) on Friday, the Yingcai School fire in Yanshanpu village, Henan, was reported to the local fire department, according to Xinhua.

The news agency stated that one person was hurt in addition to the thirteen confirmed deaths.

"Rescuers arrived at the scene quickly and the flames were extinguished at 11:38 p.m.," according to Xinhua.


As to Xinhua, the wounded survivor "is currently receiving treatment at the hospital and is in stable condition".

According to Xinhua, at least one individual connected to the school has been taken into custody while local officials look into what caused the incident.

Anger on the internet

On the fringes of Nanyang, a city home to almost ten million people, is Yanshanpu village.

Although there isn't much information on the boarding school online, previous social media posts featured older kids learning calligraphy and younger kids, including kindergarteners, wearing smocks with the school's insignia.


The number of minors among the fatalities was not disclosed by Xinhua.

Chinese social media users on Saturday condemned the fire and demanded that anyone found to have violated safety protocols face consequences.

One commentator on the social media platform Weibo said, "It's too scary, 13 children from 13 families, all gone in an instant... if there is not severe punishment there souls will not rest in peace."

China has a high rate of fires and other fatal accidents as a result of inadequate safety regulations and enforcement.

In November, a fire at a coal company office in Shanxi province, northern China, claimed 26 lives and sent scores more to hospitals.

In the northeast of the nation, a school gym's roof collapsed in July, leaving eleven people dead.

Thirty-one people were killed in an explosion at a BBQ restaurant in northwest China one month prior, which spurred government announcements of a national push to increase worker safety.

29 people were killed in a hospital fire in Beijing in April, and those who were left had no choice but to jump out of windows to escape.

Chinese President Xi Jinping demanded that the nation "conduct in-depth investigations of hidden risks in key industries, improve emergency plans and prevention measures" following the coal industry incident in November.

End//voice7news.tv