Fire at China club leaves 43 dead

[HURAKAN]

Fire at China club leaves 43 dead

A fire at a nightclub in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen has killed at least 43 people and injured another 51.

The fire broke out at 2300 (1500GMT) on Saturday, in the Long Gang district of the city, which is near the border with Hong Kong.

Nearly 1,000 people were in the club at the time.

The fire has now been extinguished, and firefighters say they suspect it was caused by fireworks being lit on the nightclub's stage.

The Party chief of Guangdong province Wang Yang has ordered an investigation into the reasons for the fire.

According to some Hong Kong-based reporters in Shenzhen, the club was in a three-story building and they say firefighters had to break some windows in the rescue, while others had been blocked by bricks or wooden boards.

Serious fires are a common occurrence in China, where correspondents say safety regulations are often flouted.

Meanwhile, at least 36 miners have died in two separate accidents elsewhere in China.

A gas explosion at a private mine near Dengfeng city in Henan province killed 31, and another five died in a fire at a coal mine in northeastern Heilongjiang province.

[Ptarmigan]

That Chinese club fire reminds me of The Station nightclub fire in 2003 that claimed 100 lives. It started with pyrotechnics gone bad. Condolences to anyone who died in that fire.

[somethingfunny]

Don't we have an S2K member who lives in Shenzhen?