In this image taken from video by Taiwan's EBC, firefighters battle a blaze at a building in Kaohsiung, in southern Taiwan on Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021. A fire engulfed a 13-story building overnight in southern Taiwan, the island’s semi-official Central News Agency reported Thursday. (EBC via AP )
By Huizhong Wu
At least 46 people were killed and another 41 injured after a fire broke out early Thursday in a decades-old mixed commercial and residential building in the Taiwanese port city of Kaohsiung, officials said.
Neighborhood residents said the 13-story building was home to many poor, elderly and disabled people and it wasn’t clear how many of the 120 units were occupied.
Witnesses said they heard something that sounded like an explosion at about 3 a.m. when the blaze erupted in the building's lower floors, which housed a closed movie theater, abandoned restaurants and karaoke clubs.
Lin Chie-ying said she was awoken in her home across from the fire by the sounds of ambulances and fire trucks.
“I thought our home would burn up too,” she said.
The apartment building is one of many in the Yancheng district, an older part of Kaohsiung, a city of some 2.8 million people in southwestern Taiwan.
“For the families and Yancheng, I feel incomparable pain and I blame myself deeply,” Mayor Chen Chi Mai said at a news conference, bowing in apology. “Here I want to express my deepest sorrow to all the wounded and those who died, as well as their families and all the residents.”
It took firefighters until after 7 a.m. to extinguish the blaze. Many of the upper floors appeared not to have been damaged directly.
Late in the day, the smell of smoke still lingered throughout the area and the sound of shattering glass rang. Construction workers were raised on a crane to break out the remaining glass from window frames with a crowbar to remove further hazard.
Throughout Thursday, first responders pored through the wreckage and recovered dozens of bodies. Another 14 of 55 taken initially to the hospital were confirmed dead on arrival or shortly after.
The building’s age and piles of debris blocking access to many areas complicated search and rescue efforts, officials said, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency.
It appears the fire broke out on the ground floor but it was not immediately clear exactly where and the cause was still under investigation.
The United Daily News said that investigators were focusing on a first-floor tea shop where the fire had started, and police were looking into a resident who reportedly fought with his girlfriend earlier on Wednesday. They had not ruled out arson, the newspaper said.
Fire extinguishers had been installed last month, but only three per floor because the residents could not afford to pay more, the United Daily News, a major newspaper, reported.
A 1995 fire at a nightclub in Taichung, Taiwan’s third-largest city, killed 64 people in the country’s deadliest such disaster in recent times.
After premiering at the 2022 Sundance Festival, Showtime is slated to drop the four-part docuseries "We Need to Talk About Bill Cosby" this Sunday. Director W. Kamau Bell joined Cheddar to discuss the sensitive project and about coming to grips with the reality of who Bill Cosby is following the numerous allegations of sexual assault. Bell said the biggest takeaway from the project is that survivors are not only looking for the 84-year-old comedian to be held accountable, they also want to prevent future assaults. "Maybe the key thing to learn is how do we create a society that is more supportive and accepting particularly women in this case who are survivors of sexual assault," Bell said.
Tax season is now underway, and it's going to be a bit different than in years past. For starters, the deadline is April 18, instead of the typical April 15th, and many Americans will need to account for advance child tax credit payments, the return of the recovery rebate credit, and a special break for charitable contributions, among other things. Brent Weiss, Co-Founder and certified financial planner at Facet Wealth, tells us what we need to know about filing our taxes this year, and when we can expect to receive our returns.
College enrollment has been on a steady decline for years, and the pandemic hasn't helped. Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a 6.6% — more than 1 million students — drop in undergraduate enrollment, according to a recent report. Douglas Belkin, higher education reporter at the Wall Street Journal, joined Cheddar to discuss the long-term implications of students sitting out of college, and what institutions can do about it.
As the midterm election looms, things aren't looking too promising for President Joe Biden. One year into his term as president, Biden is facing one of the lowest approval ratings of any modern-day president, threatening his party's control of the House in 2022. Brian Bennett, Senior White House Correspondent for TIME, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
A full one year into his term as President of The United States, President Biden addressed the nation on Wednesday, facing questions on everything from inflation to chip shortages and covid-19. As Biden enters his second year in office, he is facing one of the lowest approval ratings of any modern-day president. Kate Davidson, Reporter, POLITICO joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
San Diego has just implemented a new law that could set the stage for how the country deals with food waste. This new law hopes to make a dent in that. Businesses and groceries stores out in San Diego will need to put a plan in place to *donate edible food rather than toss it straight to the trash. Food Rescue Manager at Feeding San Diego, Kate Garret
The streaming giant Netflix posted its latest earnings from its fourth quarter after the close on Thursday. The company's stock plummeted shortly after the company warned that its rate of subscription additions are slowing down. Senior Reporter at MarketWatch Jon Swartz, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
