Nearly 50 People Killed in Taiwan High-Rise Fire

TAIPEI, Taiwan — At least 46 people were killed and dozens more were injured on Thursday after a fire that ripped through a multi-purpose building in southern Taiwan.

The blaze broke out early Thursday at a 13-story, 40-year-old building in Kaohsiung City.

In a statement, the city's fire department confirmed the deaths of 46 people found in the building and that another 41 were injured.

The building's upper floors contained about 120 households while the lower ones were unoccupied.

The fire department said the blaze was put out after more than four hours, with about 145 firefighters and 72 fire trucks dispatched to the scene.

City officials said that the building's poor condition - including large piles of unwanted items blocking groundfloor exits - raised questions about its maintenance and upkeep.

The building, whose residents included economically disadvantaged families and older people with mobility difficulties, reportedly lacked a management team.

Chao Tien-lin, a lawmaker with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, called for a revision of regulations to ensure people living in older buildings are safe, in comments to journalists at the scene.

Taiwan's last deadly fire in a single building occurred in 1995, when 64 people lost their lives in a restaurant in central Taiwan.

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