13 third-graders killed in school dorm fire in eastern Chinese province
BANGKOK (AP) — Thirteen students died after a fire broke out in dorms at a boarding school for elementary students in central Henan province, Chinese state media reported Saturday.
All of the dead were third-grade students, a teacher told Zonglan News, a state-backed media outlet from Hebei province. One person rescued from the scene was being treated in the hospital, CCTV, China’s state broadcaster said.
The fire started Friday night and was put out just before midnight at Yingcai School in rural Fangcheng district in central Henan. The school’s owner was detained, CCTV reported.
Police set up a cordon around the school, a Xinhua news report showed, and the dorm where the fire had happened was charred black even outside the building. The school had metal grilles covering the windows, as is common in buildings in China.
State media reported that public records showed the school’s owner is a man called Li Jizhong. AP could not reach Li for comment.
Local authorities said they were investigating the cause of the fire.
The boarding school caters primarily to students in the elementary grades, though it has an attached kindergarten, according to the school’s WeChat page. Many of the boarding students come from rural areas, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.
The facility is in Dushu township and is one of the school’s two branches.