TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s president connected Saturday paid her respects astatine a morgue to the dozens of radical killed successful a deadly inferno that ripped done an aging operation artifact earlier successful the week.
The occurrence successful the confederate metropolis of Kaohsiung killed astatine slightest 46 people, according to authorities, aft it broke retired aboriginal Thursday morning. The flames engulfed the little fractional of a 13-story gathering that housed galore residents who were poor, aged oregon disabled.
President Tsai Ing-wen said she had travel to the metropolis of Kaohsiung “mainly to sojourn the wounded and connection my condolences to the household members” of the deceased.
“The occurrence mishap that happened successful the Cheng Chong Cheng gathering resulted successful galore injuries and deaths. Everyone is feeling profoundly bittersweet and torn with separation,” she said.
Tsai thanked rescuers, the constabulary unit and aesculapian workers for their work. She added that the cardinal authorities would enactment intimately with region and metropolis officials to cleanable up older and abandoned buildings, and forestall akin incidents from happening.
The Taiwanese person besides visited hospitals wherever dozens of radical who were injured successful the blaze were receiving aesculapian treatment.
The decades-old flat gathering is 1 of galore successful the Yancheng district, an older portion of Kaohsiung, a metropolis of immoderate 2.8 cardinal radical successful southwestern Taiwan.
Major paper United Daily News said that investigators were focusing connected a first-floor beverage store wherever the occurrence had started, and constabulary were looking into a nonmigratory who reportedly fought with his woman earlier connected Wednesday. They had not ruled retired arson, according to the paper.
Fire extinguishers were installed past month, but lone 3 per level due to the fact that the residents could not spend to wage more, it said.