Bedding fire in dormitory kills 13 children

China was hit by yet another public safety tragedy yesterday when a fire swept through a kindergarten in the south-east of the…

China was hit by yet another public safety tragedy yesterday when a fire swept through a kindergarten in the south-east of the country. Thirteen children aged between three and four were killed.

The fire broke out just after midnight in a dormitory at the Jiangxi Radio and TV Arts Kindergarten in Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi province.

The dead children, seven boys and six girls, were thought to have suffocated. Four others managed to escape the fire. One ran to safety on his own while three others were pulled out by rescuers.

According to local police, the blaze was caused by burning mosquito coils which ignited bedding in the kindergarten's dormitory.

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Many Chinese kindergartens have dormitories where parents who work late or live far away can leave their children overnight.

China has been rocked by a series of fatal accidents this year that have raised concerns about public safety. In April a total of 31 people were killed after explosions in two provinces on the same day.

In the northern city of Shijiazhuang, a series of predawn explosions ripped through four residential blocks in separate districts with 18 people confirmed dead.

And in an incident in Hunan Province, 13 people were killed following a gas explosion in Shuidong coal mine in Linwu County.

In one of the worst cases this year involving children, an explosion in a school in Jiangxi Province in March killed at least 42 people, mostly children. The Chinese Premier, Mr Zhu Rongji, apologised afterwards to the nation and pledged to raise safety standards.

Last Christmas 309 people were killed in a nightclub fire in Luoyang in central China.