http://syn2.thecanadianpress.com:8080/mrss/feed/fcf7391a2f354311807f0501c16bde6a MSN - AP World Copyright © 2010-2018 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved. http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Sat, 05 Jul 2025 19:47:07 +0000 http://syn2.thecanadianpress.com:8080/mrss/feed/fcf7391a2f354311807f0501c16bde6a/dbfe962925b242d49031c97b4635d457 Taiwanese officials set up an independent commission Friday to investigate the conditions at a run-down building in the port city of Kaohsiung where a fire killed 46, while authorities scoured the blackened ruins for the cause of the blaze. (Oct. 15) dbfe962925b242d49031c97b4635d457 Fri, 15 Oct 2021 10:39:31 +0000 SHOTLIST:RESTRICTION SUMMARY:ASSOCIATED PRESSKaohsiung  City - 15 October 20211. Various of burnt buildingANNOTATION: A fire in a 13-story building left dozens dead in Taiwan early Thursday.2. Various of workers building scaffoldingANNOTATION: Witnesses said they heard what sounded like an explosion at about 3 a.m.ANNOTATION: Authorities scoured the blackened ruins for the cause of the blaze.3. Various of a Taoist priest chanting to guide the deceased to where they need to go in the afterlifeANNOTATION: Outside, a Taoist priest chanted a prayer for those who died.ANNOTATION: Many were elderly or infirm residents unable to get out after the fire started.4. Various of water dripping5. Various of burnt buildingANNOTATION: The decades-old apartment building is one of many in the Yangcheng district, an older part of KaohsiungSTORYLINE:Taiwanese officials set up an independent commission Friday to investigate the conditions at a run-down building in the port city of Kaohsiung where a fire killed 46 people, while authorities scoured the blackened ruins for the cause of the blaze.Outside, a Taoist priest in traditional robes chanted a prayer for those who died, many of whom were elderly or infirm residents unable to get out of the 13-story building after the fire broke out on the ground floor. Kaohsiung's city administration said the building had been required to follow fire codes and submit to inspections, but that inspectors had not been able to access the premises recently because the doors were always locked and they were unable to coordinate visits with the property owners. Mayor Chen Chi-mai announced that he had ordered his deputy to set up an independent team to investigate whether negligence contributed to the tragedy, in which another 41 people were injured. Of the 46 dead, Chen said that 21 still had not been identified. He said experts hoped to use fingerprint analysis to determine who the other 19 dead were, but for two others they would have to rely on other methods. The building had commercial facilities on lower floors, a closed movie theatre, restaurants and a karaoke bar - most out of business - and some 120 housing units above. It has grown increasingly derelict in recent years as other parts of the city started developing and drew people away, local media reported.The fire broke out in the lower area at about 3 a.m. Thursday, and witnesses reported hearing a loud sound like an explosion. It took firefighters until after 7 a.m. to fully extinguish the blaze. Local media say police were questioning a female resident of the building who allegedly discarded a burning incense coil in a trash can inside an apartment where she had also stored small gas canisters. A man who carelessly discarded a cigarette outside the building and the possibility of a fire in the electrical system were also being investigated, the reports said.According to neighborhood residents, the building was home to many poor, older and disabled people, and many appear to have been trapped in their apartments. The building’s age and piles of debris blocking access to many areas complicated search and rescue efforts, officials said, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency.The decades-old apartment building is one of many in the Yancheng district, an older part of Kaohsiung, a city of some 2.8 million people in southwestern Taiwan.Fire extinguishers had been installed last month, but only three per floor because the residents could not afford to pay more, the United Daily News, a major newspaper, reported.A 1995 fire at a nightclub in Taichung, Taiwan’s third-largest city, killed 64 people in the country’s deadliest such disaster in recent times. ===========================================================Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: info@aparchive.com(ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service (iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory. Taiwanese officials set up an independent commission Friday to investigate the conditions at a run-down building in the port city of Kaohsiung where a fire killed 46, while authorities scoured the blackened ruins for the cause of the blaze. (Oct. 15) Aftermath of Taiwan building fire, dozens dead