BEIJING: A fire in a southern neighbourhood of the Chinese capital, Beijing, early on Wednesday killed five people, the government said, just weeks after another deadly blaze in the city prompted a crackdown against migrant workers.
The Beijing fire service said in a short statement the fire, in a house in Baiqiangzi village, was caused by an electric bike. Another eight people were injured, it said. They were sent to hospital but were not in danger.
The statement gave no other details.
Beijing’s municipal government launched a 40-day “special operation” targeting fire code and building safety violations last month after a Nov. 18 apartment fire in another southern part of the city killed 19, almost all of them migrants.
The city-wide fire safety blitz has forced thousands of migrant workers out of their homes and businesses, igniting unusually direct criticism of city government measures seen by some people as unfairly targeting the vulnerable underclass. --Reuters