Deadly High-Rise Fire in China Raises Questions Over Official Toll

A fire tore through a high-rise building in northern China’s Shanxi Province on March 28, killing at least three people and injuring 23 others, according to official figures reported by Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency.

The blaze started in a commercial building in Taiyuan, the provincial capital. Fire crews extinguished the flames within about 30 minutes, officials said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Videos circulating online showed flames racing up the outside of the building, engulfing the facade and sending thick plumes of smoke into the air. Burning debris could be seen falling from upper floors as bystanders screamed.

While Chinese communist regime officials have released casualty figures, multiple witnesses, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, told The Epoch Times that the scale of the disaster may have been greater than officially reported.

Witnesses who spoke to The Epoch Times estimated that more than 100 people may have been inside when the fire broke out.

One resident told The Epoch Times that the building housed a mix of businesses, including restaurants, convenience stores, and karaoke lounges, with hotels and offices occupying the upper floors.

“The fire started downstairs and went all the way to the top,” the resident said. “Some people were carried out, some ran out, and many were seriously injured. The scene was completely out of control. There were several [bodies] being carried out, and this doesn’t even include the missing ones, which officials definitely would not be reporting.”

Another nearby resident told The Epoch Times the entire building appeared to have been engulfed, adding that multiple people were seen being carried from the site.

“Getting out from the upper floors was very difficult,” a female witness, whose sister had been inside the building at the time, told The Epoch Times.

Her sister escaped unharmed after noticing smoke while dining in a restaurant.

“People were shouting and crying. It was very frightening,” she said. “Some children on the scene appear to be dying, and many more were seriously injured or have passed out.”

She added that several shops on the ground floor were destroyed in the fire, and that hundreds of people were on the upper floors when it started.

Local emergency service officials said the fire at the building had been extinguished and that the cause remains unclear, according to Chinese online news outlet NetEase.

Cheng Jing and Gu Xiaohua contributed to this report.