Sent to you by khalil via Google Reader:
More than 90 reported hurt as Chinese firefighters battle huge blaze
At least eight people are dead and more than 90 injured after fire ripped through a block of flats in Shanghai this afternoon, state media reported.
Residents clambered along scaffolding to escape as flames engulfed the 28-storey building. Some made their way down to the street, while others waited on the rooftop in the hope of being rescued by helicopter.
The Shanghai Daily website reported that fire crews finally extinguished the blaze at around 7pm, five hours after it began. Firefighters could be seen carrying bodies from the building.
The site added that other reports put the death toll at 12.
Shanghai television said that more than 80 fire trucks were called to fight the blaze.
The building was under renovation and a witness quoted by the state news agency, Xinhua, said the fire had broken out among construction materials. It then spread rapidly along the scaffolding, with flames soon tearing through the block.
More than 10 residents rushed to the roof and a photograph showed at least one person being winched off by a helicopter. But Xinhua said thick smoke had hampered rescue efforts and it is not known if the others were saved.
According to Shanghai Daily, there were just over 150 households in the block. Several flats belonged to retired teachers.
The city government said 100 people had been rescued, but it is not clear if that included the 90 people Xinhua said had been hurt in the fire. A doctor at the city's Jing'an hospital said it had admitted more than 20 seriously injured people.
One survivor told Hong Kong's Phoenix TV that he and his wife had been taking a nap in their 23rd-floor flat when they smelled smoke. They climbed down four storeys of scaffolding before meeting firefighters.
Residents in nearby buildings said their windows had become too hot to touch and several blocks had been evacuated.
The state-run news website Eastday.com said crews had been installing energy-saving insulation when the fire started, citing a labourer who escaped from the top floor.
The worker, surnamed Qian, told the site that she had struggled to breath as thick, rolling smoke clouds surrounded the building and the room she was in filled with smoke. She said she had called the city's emergency service and then used a wet towel to cover her mouth and nose as she ran down a fire escape.
Things you can do from here:
- Subscribe to The Guardian World News using Google Reader
- Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites