Shanghai: Fire engulfed a high-rise apartment building under renovation in China's business center of Shanghai on Monday, killing 42 people and sending residents scrambling down scaffolding to escape, city authorities said.
The government said more than 100 fire trucks were called to battle the blaze, and streams of water could be seen flowing into the building which was shrouded in plumes of thick black smoke. The fire was largely put out about four hours later, it said. Firefighters could be seen taking bodies from the building.
Photos posted online showed a man clinging to the scaffolding. A resident identified as Mr. Zhou told Hong Kong broadcaster Phoenix TV that he and his wife were napping in their 23rd floor apartment when they smelled smoke. He said they climbed down the scaffolding four stories before being rescued by firefighters.
At one point helicopters could be seen hovering over the building, and witnesses said at least one resident was rescued, but thick smoke hampered further efforts. By evening the helicopters were gone.
The government said rescuers continued to search inside the charred building, without saying if anyone was unaccounted for. Xinhua said more than 100 residents had been rescued from the apartments that house 156 families.
A doctor at Shanghai's Jing'an Central Hospital surnamed Zhang said more than 20 seriously hurt people had been admitted for treatment. Most of the survivors had suffered asphyxia from the smoke fumes, another doctor said.
Shanghai, a city of 20 million and venue of the recently concluded World Expo, has seen a construction frenzy in recent years, ranging from high rises that dot its skyline to new subway lines, highways and airport upgrades. But unsafe building work remains a chronic problem in China.
Last year, a nearly finished 13-story apartment building in Shanghai collapsed, killing one worker. Investigations showed that excavated dirt piled next to the building may have caused the collapse.
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