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13 die in primary school fire in central China’s Henan province

  • Teachers say the victims in deadly dormitory blaze were all third-graders, or about nine years old, according to media
  • Most pupils at the private institution live on campus, but all but a few had gone home for the weekend, local shopkeeper says

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The blaze at this dormitory at Yingcai School in Henan’s Fangcheng county was reported to local fire services around 11pm on Friday. Photo: Xinhua
Zhang Tongin Beijing

Thirteen people died in a fire at a primary school dormitory in the central Chinese province of Henan late on Friday, Chinese media reported on Saturday.

All of the victims were third-graders, or about nine years old, according to teachers at the school quoted by Zonglan News, a media outlet in neighbouring Hebei province owned by the official Hebei Daily.

State news agency Xinhua did not give the age of the victims.

One person was also injured and was in stable condition, undergoing treatment in hospital.

The blaze at Yingcai School in Yingshanpu village, Fangcheng county, was reported to local fire services at 11pm on Friday, according Xinhua.

“The fire response team reached the location promptly and managed to put out the fire by 11.38pm,” Xinhua reported.

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