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At least 46 people died and another 41 were injured in southern Taiwan after a 40-year-old building caught fire, early on October 14th.
The fire broke out in the 40-year-old building in Kaohsiung’s Yancheng district in the early hours of October 15th and was extinguished around dawn.
The Kaohsiung fire department said in a statement that after completing a search of the building they were able to confirm 46 deaths.
Mayor Chen Chi-mai said the building was partly abandoned.
The government is investigating the cause including whether arson was to blame.
Neighbourhood residents said the 13-storey building was home to many poor, elderly and disabled people and it wasn’t clear how many of the 120 units were occupied.
Witnesses said they heard something that sounded like an explosion at about 3 a.m. local time when the blaze erupted in the building’s lower floors, which housed a closed movie theatre, abandoned restaurants and karaoke clubs.
Throughout October 14th first responders searched through the wreckage and recovered dozens of bodies. Another 14 of 55 taken initially to the hospital were confirmed dead on arrival or shortly after.
The building’s age and piles of debris blocking access to many areas complicated search and rescue efforts, officials said, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency.
Later in the day, the smell of smoke still lingered and the sound of shattering glass rang throughout the area. Construction workers were raised on a crane to break out the remaining glass from window frames with a crowbar, and waited to put up scaffolding to prevent the building from being a further hazard.
Scattered crowds of people gathered across the street. Curious onlookers drove by on their scooters and paused to look at the damage.
The decades-old apartment building is one of many in the Yancheng district, an older part of Kaohsiung, a city of 2.8 million people in southwestern Taiwan.
“For the families and Yancheng, I feel incomparable pain and I blame myself deeply,” Mayor Chen Chi Mai said at a news conference, bowing in apology. “Here I want to express my deepest sorrow to all the wounded and those who died, as well as their families and all the residents.”
It appears the fire broke out on the ground floor and the cause was still under investigation.
The United Daily News said that investigators were focusing on a first-floor tea shop, and police were looking into a resident who reportedly fought with his girlfriend earlier on October 13th.
Fire extinguishers had been installed last month, but only three per floor because the residents could not afford to pay more, the United Daily News reported.
A 1995 fire at a nightclub in Taichung, Taiwan’s third-largest city, killed 64 people in the country’s deadliest such disaster in recent times.
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RT: “Multiple casualties reported after explosion at mosque gates in Afghanistan’s Kandahar”
Taliban Sunni fuk face are just as bad as Wahhabi Sunnis. They have killed Shia before back in 2001 (Don’t even try you fuking Pakistan gays – saying BS it is not them, they were sleeping with Al-Qaeda. Wahhabi Sunnis from KSA back in 2001, and even now, just how fast KSA, UAE, and Qatar suck Taliban dicks? huh…maybe because they can use these backward Sunnis like before). Remember last time IS-K attack and killed 300 Shia (A.K.A True Muslims)? Taliban pigs killed 11 Shia Hazara days before that happened btw. Even now the Taliban don’t care if Shia gets killed by IS-K or one of their own pig kill Shia.
Also, remembers moronic Sunni fuks – Taliban saying IS-K is just a “headache”. These fuking apes also lie like pigs to cover their ass-hole just like how their brothers Wahhabi fuk face in KSA lie about not losing against Yemenis.
Lastly, it is about how useless these fuking Sunnis are in M.E. You, people, hate me for saying it but most of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and other terrorist groups’ soldiers are just SUNNIS. The only people in Iraqi that still fight and die for Daesh are Sunnis Iraqis, the Sunnis in the West join ISIS, Syrian Sunnis were part of Daesh. Iran didn’t have to deal with Daesh take over their country because they are SHIA Muslims, Iran doesn’t see many Daesh attacks because they are Shia – the US and Isreal use MEK against Iran.
I SAID IT BEFORE AND I SAY IT AGAIN, SHIA CAN’T LIVE WITH BACKWARD SUNNIS. THE WORLD MUST HELP SHIA AND HAZARA AFGHANS. It is clear as sky that the Taliban can’t fight against IS-K or they don’t care if Shia dies. It is so easy for the US, Wahhabi states, Israel to use Sunnis against Sunnis in Afghanistan. I don’t think these backward Sunnis – Taliban can fight IS-K.
Also, I’m just putting this out there, China and Russia used Afghanistan to attack each other before. Look back in Afghanistan history, you see what I mean.
UAE is secular now.
UAE is part of the wahabi cult
Dead wrong
Your point? They are still part of the Wahhabi-yanquis-Zion cult killing Yemenis and supporting Zion.
UAE is a clown “state”, what, they also make trade deals with Iran… somehow that makes them good? Fuk no. They were part of yanquis plan to set up ISIS-Daesh in M.E.
There were UAE citizens on 9/11 planes. Hijackers by Airplane American Airlines Flight 11 Mohamed Atta – Egypt, tactical leader of 9/11 plot and pilot Abdul Aziz al Omari – Saudi Arabia Wail al Shehri – Saudi Arabia Waleed al Shehri – Saudi Arabia Satam al Suqami – Saudi Arabia
United Airlines Flight 175 Fayez Banihammad – United Arab Emirates Ahmed al Ghamdi – Saudi Arabia Hamza al Ghamdi – Saudi Arabia Marwan al Shehhi – United Arab Emirates, pilot Mohand al Shehri – Saudi Arabia
American Airlines Flight 77 Hani Hanjour – Saudi Arabia, pilot Nawaf al Hazmi – Saudi Arabia Salem al Hazmi – Saudi Arabia Khalid al Mihdhar – Saudi Arabia Majed Moqed – Saudi Arabia
United Airlines Flight 93 Saeed al Ghamdi – Saudi Arabia Ahmad al Haznawi – Saudi Arabia Ziad Jarrah – Lebanon, pilot Ahmed al Nami – Saudi Arabia
I mean the government not common people.
A sign of future events, sad to say. The traitor “president” tsai ing wen is a british puppet. Research her disgusting biography, a born traitor.