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The Towering Inferno: Massive fire engulfs 42-story Chinese skyscraper as people flee burning debris

No casualties were reported as videos showed dozens of residents fleeing the area as flaming debris fell from the top floors

CHANGSHA, HUNAN: A massive fire breakout engulfed a 42-floor skyscraper in Changsha, the capital of China's southern province of Hunan on Friday, September 16. No casualties have been reported. The massive building where the blaze broke out was housing an office of the state-owned telecommunications company China Telecom, according to the state broadcaster CCTV. 

“Thick smoke billowed from the site, and dozens of floors burned ferociously,” CCTV reported, according to Daily Mail. The city's fire department said 280 firefighters were deployed and were able to quickly put out the fire on the 720-foot-tall building. An initial photograph released by CCTV showed orange flames searing through the building in a built-up area of the city as black smoke billowed into the sky. Videos of the incident showed debris falling to the ground and workers evacuating the building. 

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Social media users complained of being unable to use their phones. However, China Telecom said in a statement that there was no disruption to cellphone service. China Telecom posted on social media: “By about 4:30pm today, the fire at our No 2 Communications Tower in Changsha has been extinguished. No casualties have yet been discovered and communications have not been cut off.” An investigation is currently going on to understand how the fire broke out in the first place. 

According to the outlet, the construction of the skyscraper was completed in 2000 and is situated near a major ring road. The province of Hunan reportedly has a population of about 10 million people. However, this is not the first time such a deadly fire broke out in China. In northeastern Jilin province, a warehouse fire blazed out the lives of at least 15 people and injured at least 25 in July last year, according to the state media reports.

Similary, a fire breakout claimed the lives of 18 people, a month before that. The unfortunate incident took place at a martial arts school in central Henan province which caused an uproar over fire safety standards. In 2017, almost 24 people were persihed in a pair of blazes in Beijing's migrant neighbourhoods while 58 died when a huge fire swept through a 28-story Shanghai housing block in 2010. 

MEAWW previously reported that hundreds are still trapped in the World Trade Center in Hong Kong after a fire broke out in the building on Wednesday. Reports said many people were trapped on the rooftop as firefighters rushed immediately to put off the blaze and rescue them. Reports put the number of trapped people at more than 300.