The blaze began within the 13-story industrial and residential building at 2:54 a.m. native time (2:54 p.m. ET) in Kaohsiung metropolis's Yancheng district, in keeping with Taiwan's official Central News Agency (CNA).
Rescue operations are nonetheless underway, with greater than 377 rescue staff deployed to the scene, a spokesman on the Kaohsiung metropolis fireplace bureau advised CNN. At least 41 folks have suffered accidents, he stated.
Initially, authorities put the loss of life toll at seven, however the metropolis's fireplace chief Lee Ching-hsiu warned extra casualties had been anticipated as some folks should still be trapped within the residential a part of the building, between the seventh and eleventh flooring.
A complete of 139 fireplace vans and ambulances had been deployed to the scene and extinguished the fireplace by 7:17 a.m. (7:17 pm ET), CNA stated. By noon, at least 62 folks between the ages of 8 and 83 had been rescued.
More than 100 residents, lots of them senior residents with bodily disabilities, reside within the building, in keeping with CNA.
It is unclear what prompted the fireplace, in keeping with CNA. Local police are reviewing surveillance footage and stated they can not rule out human elements, in keeping with the report.
Lee advised CNA the variety of casualties was excessive attributable to a mix of things: The fireplace occurred in a single day; nearly all of residents had been aged; the stairwells had been filled with particles; and the building supplies didn't meet fireplace security requirements.