On Saturday evening, a fire broke out inside a two-story building in Beijing’s southern Daxing District, leaving 19 people dead in a tragedy that is becoming all too familiar on the outskirts of China’s booming mega-cities.
Of the 19 killed, 17 were migrants who had come to Beijing from other parts of the country for work. The blue-collar workers lived in unsafe, cramped conditions on the second floor of a rundown building just inside the capital’s Sixth Ring Road that was a fire hazard waiting to happen.
According to China Labor Bulletin (CLB), the second floor was divided into more than a hundred ten-square meter rooms which could house up to three or four people each.
The entire floor was serviced by only two staircases. After the fire started, many residents and their children were unable to escape from the smoke-filled floor in time.
Seven of the victims were under seven years old, including a 1-year-old girl, a 1-year-old boy, a 2-year-old boy, two 3-year-old boys, a 4-year-old girl, and a 6-year-old boy.
According to China’s official Xinhua news agency, a preliminary investigation has already been conducted into the fire with firefighters suspecting that the blaze may have started in a 5,000-square-meter refrigeration facility that was under construction in the basement.
18 people have been detained in relation to the fire, including seven apartment managers, seven electricians, and four construction workers. None of the workers held proper permits or qualifications, police said. All of those detained are migrants.
In addition, Beijing has also announced a city-wide safety check that will be carried out over the next 40 days with local officials urged to carefully check each locality for possible safety risks.
Already, this campaign is playing out in Daxing with residents being warned that forced demolitions will soon be carried out on illegal structures in the area, according to an image posted to Twitter by CLB.
Daxing fire aftermath: fire department seal closing off a shop in the suburban migrant worker area and an unsigned letter warning residents of imminent forced demolition of illegal structures (residences, factories, shops) on 22 Nov. assisted with "mid to high police force" pic.twitter.com/rJ8XDtXHHg
— CLB (@chinalabour) November 22, 2017
Other images show riot police entering the neighborhood as residents scramble to gather up all of their belongings and get away.
Daxing fire aftermath: security personnel in riot gear enter the area while residents rush to pack up after an ultimatum to vacate the area was issued. Water and electricity supply interrupted, eyewitnesses tell CLB pic.twitter.com/Xrb1GNU2E5
— CLB (@chinalabour) November 22, 2017
Daxing fire aftermath: residents scramble after a demolition order was issued (eyewitness photo) pic.twitter.com/G2f44iSkKJ
— CLB (@chinalabour) November 22, 2017
“Nobody cared about them before, now they chase them away. Who should assume responsibility? Tenants should not be taking the fall!” CLB quotes one net user as writing.
Sadly, unsafe living conditions are the norm for many migrants who have moved to China’s urban metropolises looking for better paid work. Back in July, a building in the city of Changshu which young migrant workers were using as dormitory went up in flames, killing 22 people after an alleged arsonist set the building ablaze and locked the door.