Fire in Taiyuan residential building kills 14 in northern China

What happened

A fire broke out on the afternoon of Sunday, 8 November, in a residential building in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province in northern China. Local authorities told Xinhua that the death toll had risen to 14 by Monday, 9 November, up from an initial five reported on Sunday evening. The blaze was first recorded at 16:59 local time at the Howard Johnson International apartment complex on Liuxiang Street in the Yingze district. Most reports say emergency crews put out the visible flames at about 19:00, although NewsIT put the firefighting operation at more than 3.5 hours. Rescue work ended around 20:30, according to SKAI, and the investigation into the cause was opened the same day.

Hospital care and footage of the blaze

Thirty-eight people were taken to hospitals in the first official tally, and five of them had died by Sunday evening. On Monday, local authorities said 25 people remained in hospital, 16 of them in stable condition and nine with more serious injuries, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Videos showed dense black smoke rising from the building, and people were seen calling for help from windows, Spiegel reported. Hospitals continue to treat the injured, and officials have not released further details on the condition of the others who were treated. Authorities said assistance and management of the aftermath are continuing.

Dead (as of 9 November)14

Taken to hospital (first tally)38

Still hospitalized (9 November)25

Serious condition (9 November)9

Dead (as of 9 November)

14 people

Taken to hospital (first tally)

38 people

Still hospitalized (9 November)

25 people

Serious condition (9 November)

9 people

Data from the article text

Open questions over the cause

Local authorities opened an investigation to determine what caused the fire, and the origin remained unknown in reporting on 9 November. Telegraaf and SIC both link frequent fatal fires in China partly to lax building rules and safety failures in workplaces. No source has attributed the blaze in Taiyuan to a specific failure so far.

Earlier fires in China

Spiegel reported that an earlier fire in Taiyuan in March killed three people and injured 23 others. The same outlet cited a high-rise fire in Hong Kong in November 2025 that killed 168 people, while Telegraaf gave the figure as 160. Spiegel also reported that Chinese authorities ordered nationwide fire safety checks on high-rise buildings a few days after the Hong Kong fire. SIC listed a residential building fire in Guangdong, a month after the national prevention campaign launched, that killed 12 people, and a shoe factory fire in Jinjiang in July that killed at least 28. El Confidencial added a textile company fire in Guangdong in September with at least eight dead, and a cargo ship fire at Qingdao the same month that killed 25 people.