According to the sources quoted by the German news agency DPA, the fire started two days ago, Thursday, and videos posted on social media show massive flames coming out of the windows of a 15th-floor apartment.
Virtually no one is on the streets in Xinjiang province due to the “zero tolerance” program imposed locally to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic after a case was discovered in Urumqi.
Several residents have protested the mobility restrictions, a situation that has hampered rescue efforts.
According to data from the data protection authority, some residents of the burning building were trapped in the building because the doors were closed, preventing them from entering the street.
In recent years, Xinjiang has been the target of complaints from the international community about alleged racist measures in the province, mainly related to the Uyghur majority populating the province.
Several human rights organizations have warned that thousands of people are being held in re-education centers.
China has recorded an increase in cases of covid-19, the coronavirus, in recent weeks, reaching its highest number of infections since the start of the pandemic.
In Beijing alone, and today alone, nearly 35,000 new cases were recorded.
Source: DN
