Four heads of project contractors and two electric welders have been
detained over a high-rise fire in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the
local police and firefighting authorities said yesterday.
An initial investigation showed alleged improper welding methods by the two
workers ignited construction materials and started the fire at around 4 p.m. on
the third floor of the "Jingwei360" building in the provincial capital, Harbin.
The fire spread to other floors and was put out at 7 p.m..
The 99.8-meter-high structure had 29 floors, including one underground. It
was almost completed when the accident happened.
Fire-fighters rescued 61 people, mostly construction workers who were
decorating apartments at the time, and no deaths were reported.
Some suffered slight symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning and burns to upper
respiratory system. They were hospitalized.
The two welders and the four representatives, from a construction firm and a
project supervision company based in Heilongjiang, and two wall decorating
companies based in Guangdong Province in southern China, are being interrogated
by police.
