Janice R. Andrews
State media said that a tragic tragedy occurred when a fire destroyed a dormitory at Yingcai School in Yanshanpu village, Henan province, killing thirteen young people.
As per a teacher’s statement to the state-run Hebei Daily, the victims were all pupils in the third grade of elementary school and belonged to the same class of nine and ten year olds. A nearby hospital is presently treating a second student who sustained injuries and is in stable condition.
When the incident was reported on Friday at 11 p.m. (15:00 GMT), firemen arrived quickly to put out the flames. The head of the school has been arrested by the authorities, and an inquiry into what caused the tragic fire has begun.
Images released by China National Radio show broken windows on the school’s dormitory building in Yanshanpu hamlet, which is outside of Nanyang, a metropolis of about 10 million people. The cops have set up a perimeter around the location.
Although the boarding school is not well-known to the general public, prior social media posts featured kids of all ages—including kindergarteners—dressed in smocks bearing the institution’s emblem. This weekend is the only holiday given to pupils at the kindergarten and elementary school every two weeks, according to The Paper, a government-backed news source in Shanghai.
The majority of Yingcai’s students come from rural backgrounds, which further complicates the fallout from this unfortunate incident. Chinese social media sites, Weibo in particular, have been overrun with grieving and angry posts. People are demanding harsh penalties for any safety violations that may have contributed to the event.
“Too frightening”
This tragic tragedy is only one in a long line of safety-related mishaps in China, which raises questions about the nation’s safety regulations and implementation. A coal company office fire in Shanxi province in November claimed 26 lives, and an 11-person school gym ceiling collapse in July killed eleven people. In April, another tragedy struck the nation as 29 people lost their lives in a hospital fire in Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for thorough investigations into hidden hazards in important industries following the coal firm incident in November. He also underlined the need to improve emergency plans and preventative actions. The recent school fire highlights the urgent need for coordinated actions to solve safety issues and stop similar tragic events from happening in the future.
