Dormitory Burned, 13 Students Roasted to Death

Dormitory Burned, 13 Students Roasted to Death

A NUMBER of police were on guard outside the school area where 13 child burned to death in a fire in Yanshanpu, Central Henan Province, China, Sunday (21/1). – F. GREG BAKER/AFP–

batampos – The Yingcai School dormitory in Yan-shanpu Village, Henan Province, China, caught fire on Friday (19/1) at 23.00 local time. Firefighters managed to extinguish the fire about 40 minutes later. Unfortunately, 13 students were burned to death and one other person was hospitalized.

All the victims were class III students. They are between 9–10 years old. When the fire occurred, there were 30 students in the dormitory. They all came from villages around the hostel. This private school, which has been around for 10 years, offers classes from kindergarten to elementary school. Most students go home on weekends.

Sunday (21/1) the police launched an investigation into the incident. The Ministry of Emergency Management has sent a team to the location. Dozens of officers were in and around a cordoned-off area near the school. ”There is an ongoing investigation inside. Nobody can enter," one local police official told Agence France-Presse.

Yanshanpu Village is located on the outskirts of Nanyang, about 850 kilometers west of Shanghai. There has been no official explanation regarding the exact cause of the deadly incident. However, China Central Television (CCTv) has reported that a school owner named Li Jizhong has been detained.

Local authorities have also summoned the victims' parents to have their DNA samples taken. In a video circulating on Chinese social media Weibo, a man surnamed Fan said that his son was also a victim.

”We as parents have not been allowed to see our children. "We can only see them when the results (DNA test, ed) are available," said Fan. He admitted that he had not been able to accept his son's death. (*)