BEIJING (AFP) — A blaze and subsequent stampede at a club in southern China killed 43 people and left 88 injured, state media said Sunday, in the latest deadly incident highlighting China’s abysmal fire safety record.
The fire broke out at around 11:00 pm Saturday (1500 GMT) at the Dance King nightclub in the city of Shenzhen near the border with Hong Kong, state-run Xinhua news agency said.
The fire was triggered by fireworks set off during a performance on the club’s third floor that was attended by hundreds of people, reports said.
“According to a preliminary investigation, the accident was caused when fireworks were set off in the song and dance hall, triggering a fire,” said the official China News Service.
The toll may have been compounded by the fact that those seeking to escape were forced to exit through a narrow passageway, Xinhua said.
“There was only a narrow aisle… in the hall. Many people got hurt in the stampede,” club staffer Yang Zhi was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
Yang doused his clothes in water before fleeing but still suffered burns on his neck, it said.
Of those injured, 51 were in hospital in stable condition, Xinhua said.
Photos posted on the popular Chinese online portal Sohu showed apparently grieving relatives gathered outside the club during the night.
On Sunday, state television footage showed investigators and police combing the scene.
It showed limited damage to the exterior of the club.
In an indication authorities feared public anger over the fire, Guangdong province Communist Party Secretary Wang Yang ordered that victims’ families be “appeased” and “social stability” maintained, the China News Service said.
Wang also ordered that authorities quickly find those responsible for the tragedy and step up efforts to treat the injured.
Deadly fires are common in China due to the routine flouting or ignorance of fire and safety measures.
The government said earlier this year that 159,000 fires broke out in China in 2007, killing 1,418 people and causing 863 injuries.
However, the toll could be higher as local officials in China are notorious for covering up deadly accidents to avoid punishment.
The total did not include forest or grass fires or blazes in the country’s deadly mines.
In 2000, 311 people died in a disco fire in the central city of Luoyang.
Last October, a fire at a shoe factory in Fujian province killed 37 people.
