News

At Least 46 Killed In Taiwanese Apartment Building Inferno

Published

4 years ago

October 15, 2021

At least 46 people were killed and another 41 injured after a fire broke out early Thursday in a run-down 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.

Tsai Hsiu-Chin, 70, had lived in the building for 15 years. At 3 a.m., she heard someone screaming “fire.” She said she took the elevator down, escaping with just the clothing on her back.

“I didn’t bring anything. I just cared about saving my life,” she said, sitting opposite the charred building on Thursday night, trying to process her experience over a beer with a friend.

Across the street, Lin Chie-ying said she was awoken in her home by the sound of ambulances and fire trucks. “I thought our home would burn up too,” she said.

It took firefighters until after 7 a.m. to extinguish the blaze. Many of the upper floors appeared not to have been damaged directly. However, the smoke was thick enough to have killed and injured the several dozens living above the fire.

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.

Later in the day, the smell of smoke still lingered and the sound of shattering glass rang throughout the area. Construction workers were raised on a crane to break out the remaining glass from window frames with a crowbar, and waited to put up scaffolding to prevent the building from being a further hazard.

Scattered crowds of people gathered across the street. Curious onlookers drove by on their scooters and paused to look at the damage.

The decades-old 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 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.

(AP)

News

Tinubu Unveils Plan To Restart Oil Production In Ogoniland

Published

2 hours ago

September 24, 2025

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has moved to restart oil production in Ogoniland in Rivers State.

The president disclosed this on Wednesday when he conferred posthumous national honours of Commander of the Order of the Niger, CON, on the late Ogoni four; Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, and Samuel Orage.

Conferring the honours at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Tinubu urged the Ogoni people to embrace reconciliation and unity after decades of division.

He assured them of his administration’s support for peace, environmental remediation, and economic revival in the land.

“I am encouraged by the overwhelming consensus of the Ogoni communities to welcome the resumption of oil production.

“The government will deploy every resource to support your people in this march towards shared prosperity,” he said.

The president directed the National Security Adviser, NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to begin engagements between Ogoni communities, NNPCL, and other stakeholders to finalise modalities for restarting operations.

Earlier in his report, the NSA stated that the consultations engaged all four Ogoni zones and the diaspora, capturing demands for structured participation in oil production, accelerated cleanup, and sustainable development.

News

Former Oyo Police Commissioner Is Dead

Published

4 hours ago

September 24, 2025

Editor

A Former Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Abiodun Odude is dead.

The shocking news of his death was shared by the Chairman, Ibadan branch of Government College, GCI Old Boys Association, Akin Orowale on the Association’s platform.

Abiodun Odude, an old boy of GCI, served as Oyo CP between 2017 and 2019.

In the meantime, reactions have continued to trail the death of Odude.

A former Director General, Oyo State Signage and Advertisement Agency (OYSAA), and GCI OBA stalwart, Dr Yinka Adepoju posted this on platform.

“Hmmm, another deep cut in the GCI Old Boys Association and Boys of 71 Set in particular!

“May the Soul of Biodun rest in peace as l pray that the Lord comforts all members of this Great 71Set and his entire family members, ‘Yinka Adepoju @71, 2356# Grierson”

“So sad to lose such a personality NOW. But what can we do? Nothing absolutely than to wish him eternal rest and divine consolation to the loved ones left behind, particularly his immediate family and GCIOBA,” another old boy, who is an Ibadan based politician, Mr Adeniyi Adeoti said.

The late Odude served in the Intelligence Department, Zone 2, Lagos State as Deputy Commissioner of Police, CID, Panti, Yaba; he was Commissioner of Police, Administration; Department of Finance and Admin., Force Headquarters, Abuja.

News

Lagos Govt Gives Computer Village Traders Ultimatum To Relocate To Katangowa

Published

8 hours ago

September 24, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Government has given traders at the popular Computer Village in Ikeja an 18-month deadline to move to a new permanent site at Katangowa, in the Agbado/Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Gbolahan Oki, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ engagement with market leaders and traders on Tuesday.

According to him, the state government has provided the necessary infrastructure and facilities at the Katangowa site to ensure a conducive business environment once the relocation takes effect.

“The government wants your cooperation to ensure the relocation comes to pass. The time is now. We have to make the project a reality. The relocation period is 18 months,” Oki said.

He explained that Computer Village currently sits on land originally designated as a residential area, which over time was converted into a bustling commercial hub without formal approval from the government.

Oki also revealed that plans to move traders from Ikeja to Katangowa have been in the works since 2006 but were stalled due to delays in completing the new site.

Emphasizing Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to inclusive governance, he noted that the stakeholders’ meeting was convened to carry traders along in the government’s plans.

“The governor is passionate about infrastructure development and the welfare of Lagosians. Katangowa has been designated as the permanent site for this market. It sits on 15 hectares of land, well-planned and strategically located near essential resources for your businesses.

“The present location in Ikeja was never meant to serve as a trading hub. What we are offering at Katangowa is a structured market environment that supports growth while addressing environmental and urban planning concerns. We want to work with you and jointly plan this relocation,” Oki said.