China: What happened at Xinjiang fire that killed 10 people

49 on November 24, a fire broke out in a high-rise residential building in Jixiangyuan Community, Tianshan District, Urumqi City, Xinjiang, state media reported. The residents couldn't move out of the building and had to move up to the top floor.

Ten people were killed and nine injured in a fire at a residential building Thursday night in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang province, local authorities said. At about 19:49 on November 24, a fire broke out in a high-rise residential building in Jixiangyuan Community, Tianshan District, Urumqi City, Xinjiang, state media reported. The residents couldn't move out of the building and had to move up to the top floor.

According to the official report, it took about 2 hours and 46 minutes from when the fire started to when the fire brigade extinguished the fire. 10 people including three children lost their lives in this fire incident. Residents of the community complained that due to Epidemic Prevention Measures (Zero Covid Policy), they have not been allowed to go out and have been blocked in the building for the past 109 days.

Residents also stated that they could not go outside the apartment as the door on the ground floor was locked by the authorities. Many residents jumped from the building from the first and second floors to save their life. Recounting the incident, one resident posted a detailed account on a Chinese social media platform.

As per the same, his family didn't know anything about the fire. His mother was cooking, and his sister was doing homework in the bedroom. It wasn't until they noticed a mass of fire coming down from the window that they realized that the upstairs was on fire. Their parents ran away quickly, and found the door of the unit locked on the next floor, and finally jumped out of the window of the neighbour's house on the first floor. But 10 people died. Three children, including a 5-year-old, died in this fire.

Because of the continuous lockdown for the last 109 days, none of the cars parked in front of the residential building was operated. As the result, it took a lot of effort for the fire brigade to clear the cars and reach the building. After this fire incident, the residents protested to remove epidemic restrictions in the community.

Videos of this fire incident and the statement of the residents who lost their close ones were widely shared on social media. Residents from many communities in Urumqi came to the streets and raised slogans against the Party representative and the epidemic prevention authorities. They asked for unblocking all communities in Urumqi.

More and more residents in Urumqi have joined the protest in front of the City Hall. Many people are live broadcasting the protest on social media platforms and it is gaining wide traction in the whole of Xinjiang. (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)