A door fitted to prevent the theft of students’ electric scooters from their accommodation was responsible for the death of five students in a fire in the southern city of Guilin.
The door prevented the students – studying at Guangxi Normal University’s Lijiang College – from escaping. 38 other students were injured by the fire, caused by the scooters catching fire.
A national problem
China has a historically poor record with fire safety in residential buildings, but has beefed up its fire safety regulations for high-rise buildings in the last 18 months as the country undergoes a period of rapid house-building.
The owners of the block, which hosted 56 student rooms, have been questioned as police investigate.
