This photo taken on Jan 20, 2024 shows the fire site at the Yingcai School in Dushu Town, Fangcheng County, Nanyang City, central China's Henan Province. A work team was sent to central China's Henan Province during the night to guide rescue and follow-up work after a school dormitory fire on Friday night, the Ministry of Emergency Management said on Saturday. Photo:Xinhua

Seven people responsible for the school involved in the dormitory fire disaster, which claimed the lives of 13 people and injured four in Fangcheng county, Nanyang, Central China's Henan Province, have been controlled in accordance with the law, the local authorities announced on Tuesday.

A tragic fire accident occurred at a Yingcai School dormitory in Yanshanpu village, Dushu township, in Fangcheng county, Nanyang, at 11 pm on January 19, resulting in 13 fatalities and injuring four people.

According to a statement released by the Fangcheng county Yingcai school fire accident disposal headquarters, the school is a private boarding school established in 2012 with the approval of the education bureau in Fangcheng county, occupying an area of around 8,600 square meters. The school's legal representative is Li Jizhong.

The school has a kindergarten with six classes, consisting of 169 students and nine faculty members, and one class per grade from grade 1 to grade 6, accommodating 344 students and having 28 faculty members.

The school autonomously opted for a bi-weekly break, lasting four days each time. As it had initially planned to conduct classes for primary school students over the weekend (January 20 and 21), a total of 307 primary school students stayed in the dormitory on Friday night.

The building involved in the incident is a four-story structure, with the first floor designated for kindergarten classrooms, the second floor for the girls' dormitory, the third floor for the boys' dormitory, and the fourth floor currently unused.

The fire occurred in dormitory No. 305 on the third floor, covering an area of approximately 56 square meters. The room is equipped with two doors, one for the regular entry and exit of students, which is left unlocked at night for convenient access to the public toilet outside the dormitory. On that night, there were 32 grade-3 male students and one dormitory supervisor (class teacher) staying in the dormitory.

The firefighting and rescue brigade command center in Fangcheng county received the report at 11 pm on January 19 and the fire was extinguished by 11:38 pm. Apart from dormitory No.305 catching on fire, no other dormitory was affected. A total of 294 students were safely evacuated.

One of the injured students, surnamed Wu, who sustained severe injuries, is currently in a stable condition after receiving treatment. The other three injured students have all been discharged from hospital.

The fire accident disposal headquarters has established work groups to undertake follow-up tasks, including comforting the family members of the victims, providing psychological counseling, and monitoring their health.

Currently, the provincial investigation team is conducting a thorough inquiry into the cause, nature, firefighting facilities, and other relevant circumstances of the incident. The findings of the investigation will be promptly disclosed to the public.

Seven individuals linked to the school in question have been lawfully controlled. The discipline inspection and supervision department have concurrently initiated an accountability investigation, and those found negligent in their duties will be held accountable in accordance with the laws and regulations.

Global Times