Yet another fire broke out in a Beijing apartment complex, killing five and injuring nine others, South China Morning Post reports. The blaze occurred in Shibalidian (in Chaoyang) on Wednesday and was caused by two electric bikes that were charging inside the building. The victims all died from inhaling gases from the burning batteries.
The incident occurred just weeks after a fire in Daxing killed 19. Investigators found that the Daxing blaze was caused by faulty electrical wiring. Authorities detained seven apartment managers, seven electricity workers and four construction workers. According to the police, the workers did not have the proper qualifications.
In response to the Daxing fire, Cai Qi, secretary of the Communist Party, called for 40 days of citywide safety inspections and the mass demolition of illegal structures.
Thousands of migrants have since been evicted from their homes and hundreds of unsafe and illegal structures have been torn down. The mass evictions have sparked public outcry over the treatment of the capital's migrant workers.
READ MORE: Mass Evictions of Migrants Spark Public Outcry in Beijing
In the first week alone, officials are reported to have acted on over 250,000 violations intended to benefit the "lives and safety of the people." Activists say that tens of thousands of people are being effected by the citywide safety inspections, though the actual number remains unknown.
On Wednesday, Cai responded to the latest fire by saying, “This fire again shows us that we cannot stop our fire safety blitz.”
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