Fire at southern Taiwan building leaves 46 dead, dozens hurt

By HUIZHONG WU
Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Officials say the death toll from a fire in southern Taiwan that engulfed a building overnight has further risen to 46 people. Fire authorities say at least another 41 people have been injured. The 13-story building caught fire around 3 a.m. Thursday in the city of Kaohsiung. A fire department statement says the blaze was extremely fierce and destroyed many floors. The building is about 40 years old with shops on the lower levels and apartments above. The lower floors were completely blackened. Video on Taiwanese television showed orange flames and smoke billowing out of the lower floors as firefighters sprayed water from the street. One woman, who was not identified, says her 60-to-70 year old parents were inside.