Thirteen people died in a fire at a school dormitory in central China's Henan province, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.
The fire broke out at around 11pm on Friday in the dormitory of a school in Yanshanpu village, Henan province.
“At 11 p.m. on Friday, the local fire department received a warning about a fire in the dormitory of Yingcai School in Yanshanpu Village,” state media said, adding that one person was injured.
She is “currently being treated in hospital and is in a stable condition,” Xinhua news agency said.
According to this source, “Help arrived quickly on scene and the flames were extinguished at 11:38 p.m.”
Local authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire, state media said, adding that at least one person associated with the school had been arrested.
Online rage
Little information is available about the school where the fire broke out on Friday. However, videos posted on social media before the incident showed young children – including kindergarten students – learning calligraphy dressed in scrubs bearing the institution's emblem.
The Xinhua news agency did not say whether children were among the victims.
On Chinese social networks, Internet users expressed their displeasure on Saturday and called on the authorities to impose sanctions for non-compliance with security standards.
“It's too scary, 13 children from 13 families, all gone in one fell swoop (…). If there is no harsh punishment, their souls will not rest in peace,” one of them wrote on Chinese social network Weibo.
Accidents occur regularly in China, often due to inadequate safety standards and corruption among those responsible for enforcing them.
In November, 26 people died and dozens were hospitalized after a fire broke out at a coal mining company building in Shanxi province.
In Beijing, a hospital fire killed 29 people in April, one of the worst disasters in the capital in more than twenty years.
This fire forced patients to escape through windows, hanging on sheets, and taking refuge in air conditioning units mounted on the facade.