School dormitory fire kills 13 in Henan province

A school in Henan province caught fire Friday night, killing 13 people. The fire has been controlled and the person in charge has been taken into custody for questioning by local authorities, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.

The fire took place before 11 pm on Friday in the dormitory of Yingcai School in Yanshanpu village, Dushu town in the county of Fangcheng, Nanyang city.

Thirteen people have been confirmed dead and one has been confirmed injured and is currently receiving treatment at a local hospital and is in stable condition.

Rescuers arrived at the scene quickly and the flames were extinguished at 11:38 pm. Top officials from Nanyang city and the province also went to the site after the incident occurred.

The province has set up an incident management team to promptly carry out investigation and afterward handling of the incident.

The school, which provides kindergarten and primary grades education, is about 20 kilometers away from the downtown area of the county, according to a report by The Paper.

The report, quoting a local resident, said that the school is a private one with quite a few students. It added that the school took a break once every two weeks and students were at school this weekend.

zhangyu1@chinadaily.com.cn