Fire leaves 46 dead, dozens injured in southern Taiwan
Taipei, Oct 14: The death toll from a fire in southern Taiwan that engulfed a building overnight has further risen to 46 killed, according to local officials Thursday who said at least another 41 people were injured.
The 13-story building caught fire around 3 a.m. Thursday, fire officials in the city of Kaohsiung said. A fire department statement said the blaze was extremely fierce and destroyed many floors.
At least 11 bodies were sent straight to the morgue, Fire Chief Li Ching-hsiu told reporters at the scene. Another 14 people who showed no signs of life were among 55 taken to the hospital. In Taiwan, official confirmation of a death can only be made in the hospital.
Li said the death toll could surpass 40, as firefighters conducted search and rescue efforts into the afternoon.
Video shown on Taiwanese television showed orange flames and smoke billowing out of the lower floors of the building as firefighters sprayed water at it from the street. After daybreak, they could be seen spraying water into the middle floors of the still smoldering building from elevated platforms.
The cause of the fire was unclear, but firefighters noted the flames burned most intensely where a lot of clutter had been piled up, the fire department statement said.
Eyewitnesses told Taiwan media that they heard an explosion around 3 a.m.
The building is about 40 years old with shops on the lower levels and apartments above. The lower floors were completely blackened.
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Odisha: Expelled Congress leader Mohammed Moquim announces new party, to be launched on Apr 8
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Former MLA Mohammed Moquim announced that his new party will be named 'Odisha Janata Congress', and it will be formally launched on April 8.
He was expelled from the Congress in December last year after questioning party president Mallikarjun Kharge's leadership because of his age.
Moquium, who represented the Cuttack-Barabati assembly segment, said he decided to launch the new party after receiving a "positive response" from people to fight corruption.
"Both the BJD and Congress have lost their relevance, which is evident from their newfound bonhomie during the Rajya Sabha polls. Though the BJD ruled the state for 24 years, it has done nothing substantial for youths," he claimed.
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Moquim said the new party's flag is almost ready, with three colours.
"We are working on the symbol, and I have applied for the party's registration with the Election Commission," he said.
"People from across the state would join the programme at the Exhibition Ground in Bhubaneswar, from where the new party would be launched. It will be a youth-centric party," he added.
After his expulsion from the Congress, Moquim held a youth convention in Bhubaneswar. It was attended by his daughter, Sofia Firdous, who is the incumbent Congress MLA from Cuttack-Barabati.
