On the evening of April 8th, a major fire broke out at a nursing home in Longhua County, Chengde City, Hebei Province, resulting in the tragic death of 20 people.
According to reports from the state-run Chinese official media Xinhua News Agency, the fire occurred around 9 p.m. on April 8th at a nursing home in Longhua County, Chengde City, Hebei Province. By the early hours of April 9th, the fire had claimed the lives of 20 individuals. The other elderly residents of the nursing home have been transferred to nearby hospitals for further observation and treatment.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown, and given the Chinese Communist Party’s tendency to conceal the truth, the actual number of casualties remains unclear.
The incident has sparked widespread concern online, with many netizens questioning, “It’s not even that late at 9 p.m., how could so many people have died?” and “Why hasn’t the local media reported on this?”
Some have gone as far as to say, “With 20 casualties, this is a major incident of the highest level, someone should be held accountable.”
According to mainland media reports, the nursing home involved in the incident is the Guoen Elderly Apartment in Longhua County, located in Xiazhuizi Village, Anzhou Street, Longhua County. It was established in 2016 and has only been in operation for 9 years.
The Netease public account “180° Perspective” revealed details about the interior of the nursing home, describing, “Each room has around two beds, with simple furnishings such as small cabinets for daily necessities and clothing. It can be imagined that in the event of a fire, the bedding and sheets would catch fire quickly, and with the narrow corridors as escape routes, the situation would be extremely perilous when residents try to flee.”
Information from the Tianyan Cha APP shows that the Guoen Elderly Apartment in Longhua County has been involved in multiple service contract disputes and has been a debtor, with the total amount of executions totaling 1550 yuan.
Let us remember the lives lost in this tragic incident and hope for a thorough investigation to uncover the truth and prevent such a tragedy from happening again in the future.