2022 Ürümqi fire
High-rise fire in Xinjiang, China / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On 24 November 2022, a fire broke out in a residential high-rise apartment building in a Uyghur-majority neighborhood in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China. Local authorities reported ten people, all Uyghurs, were dead and an additional nine were injured,[4][1][2][3] though some raised concerns of underreporting.[5][6] Journalists raised questions of whether Beijing's strict enforcement of the zero-COVID policy prevented residents from leaving the building or interfered with the efforts of firefighters.[1] Chinese authorities have denied these claims.[7] The fire has been called a trigger of protests in several cities across China and in several other countries, targeting the Chinese government's zero-COVID policy, but in several instances also called for an end to Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s one-party rule and for general secretary Xi Jinping to step down.[7][8]
Date | 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) |
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Location | Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China |
Coordinates | 43°46′49″N 87°37′08″E |
Cause | Sparks from an electric socket on a power strip |
Deaths | 10[1][2][3] |
Non-fatal injuries | 9 |