42-Storey Skyscraper In China Bursts Into Flames, 280 Firefighters Deployed To Extinguish Blaze

42-Storey Skyscraper In Changsha, China, Bursts Into Flames On 16 Sep

Residents in the city of Changsha in China were shocked when they spotted a towering pillar of flame in the city’s skyline on Friday (16 Sep) afternoon.

A fire engulfed the entire length of a 42-storey skyscraper, sending thick plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.

280 firefighters were deployed to the scene and managed to extinguish the fire shortly after. There were, miraculously, no casualties at the time of writing.

42-storey skyscraper in Hunan, China, catches fire

According to updates on the Hunan fire department’s Weibo account, they received an alert regarding the blaze at about 3.48pm on Friday (16 Sep).

A massive fire had apparently engulfed the facade of the China Telecom Building in the downtown area of Changsha, the capital of Hunan province.

Footage circulating on social media showed bright red flames searing through one side of the building’s exterior.

In another video presumably taken at a later time, flames consumed a larger section of the tower which now appeared scorched. At this point, smoke billowing from the building also seemed darker and thicker.

As the fire raged on, pieces of flaming debris fell from the upper floors of the 218-metre skyscraper.

280 firefighters deployed to extinguish fire

In an update on their Weibo account, the Hunan fire department shared that they managed to extinguish the fire as of 5.06pm.

Thankfully, they reported no casualties.

But the blaze was apparently so intense that it took 280 firefighters to carry out operations.

In another update at about 8.21pm, the fire department shared that the “outer wall” of the building had caught fire and that the cause of the blaze was under investigation.

Hopefully, they’ll be able to identify the cause in order to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Kudos to the firefighters for extinguishing the massive fire quickly.

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Featured image adapted from Weibo and Twitter.