Police have detained three owners of an illegally-run bar in the southern Guangdong Province, where a major Sunday night fire killed 26 and injured 11, and the municipal authorities have formed a special support team to aid families of the deceased, local officials announced yesterday.

 

The bar was run by four brothers, Lin Hanwen, Lin Hanlong, Lin Hanzhong and Lin Hanwu, all residents of Tanzhou Township, Zhongshan City, said the police.

 

Lin Hanwu, who was injured in the fire, remains hospitalized.

 

The fire broke out at 11:10 PM on Sunday night, while more than 100 people were inside the illegally-operated bar, the Tandao Western-style Restaurant in Tanzhou Township. Once the smoke had cleared, 25 people were found dead at the scene. Another died after being rushed to the hospital.

 

Investigations revealed that the bar was not equipped with any fire extinguishing devices, and the safety exit was extremely narrow, making a fast evacuation difficult.

 

The fire was extinguished within five minutes by 20 firemen manning three fire engines. The fire personnel and their equipment arrived at the scene within three minutes of getting the call, but even that quick response was too late for the victims.

 

The government of Zhongshan City announced on Monday that most of the victims were young people, including 21 males and five females, and the government has formed special support teams to console the families of the deceased, and otherwise assist them in dealing with the sad aftermath.

 

The 11 injured in the fire were in stable conditions, according to the People's Hospital of Zhongshan City.

 

Soon after the incident, Wang Yuanhua, deputy secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), went to the hospital to visit the injured. There he called upon the medical workers to spare no effort in saving those victims that survived.

 

 

 

 

 

(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn December 27, 2005)