On November 8, at 16:59 local time, a significant fire broke out at the Howard International Apartment located on Liuxiang Street in the Yingze District of Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. Official reports indicate that the incident resulted in 38 individuals sustaining injuries, with 5 tragically losing their lives.
Videos circulating on social media depict a striking scene where several floors of a street-side building were engulfed in roaring flames, with fire leaping from windows and thick smoke billowing into the air. In the footage, desperate individuals can be seen at windows, waving their arms and calling for help as they remain trapped inside.
According to reports from Jimu News, the fire originated in the skirt building of the Howard International Apartment. In the aftermath of the blaze, a significant amount of glass debris was scattered across the area below the building. To facilitate effective rescue operations, authorities have cordoned off the affected roadway, restricting vehicle access.
The fire has had a substantial impact on businesses within the building. A manager from a hotel located on the eighth floor expressed to Jimu News that both employees and guests suffered injuries during the fire and were promptly transported to hospitals by ambulances. He noted that the damage to the hotel was extensive. Based on his account, the fire started on the fifth floor of the building and rapidly spread upwards through the ventilation shaft.
Another hotel manager situated on the ninth floor reported that “the fire had not yet spread to the ninth floor, and while the damage within our establishment was not severe, thick smoke filled the area. Shortly after the fire broke out, I immediately alerted the guests to evacuate, and the fire department arrived on the scene shortly thereafter. Thankfully, no guests were injured.”
As per reports from the Beijing News, the affected structure consists of a main building and an annex (the skirt building). The main building, approximately 40 stories high, predominantly houses residential apartments, while the 9-story annex comprises educational training institutions on the first three floors and hotels on the eighth and ninth floors. Although the fire originated in the annex, the main building also suffered from smoke infiltration.
Later that evening, the “Yingze Release” WeChat public account stated that the open flames were extinguished by 19:00, and the search and rescue operations concluded by 20:30. In total, 38 individuals were injured and transported to medical facilities, with 5 unfortunately declared dead after resuscitation efforts failed. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
Due to the Chinese Communist Party’s history of concealing disaster-related data, the true extent of the situation remains unconfirmed at this time.