Wuwang Club fire
Encyclopedia
The Wuwang Club fire was a fire incident that occurred in Shenzhen
, Guangdong
, People's Republic of China
on September 21, 2008.
Asia Television Limited
showed the smoke-filled nightclub after the fire. Overturned tables, broken glass and shoes littered the floor. Guangdong
's provincial governor, Huang Huahua, blamed poor ventilation for the deaths citing something wrong with the architectural design. According to Hong Kong
's RTHK 13 people were detained. Six people, including Wang Jing, president of the club, Zhang Wei, ex-husband of Wang and co-founder of the club, and four others of the club's management group, were charged with negligence and violation of safety rules. Another six people have been charged with harboring criminals, according to police.
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
, People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
on September 21, 2008.
Incident
A fire broke out just before midnight on September 21 at the packed "King of the Dancers Club" according to an official with the Shenzhen Work Safety Bureau. The nightclub was operating without a building license and was not built according to building codes, because of government corruption. The fire was started by a floorshow stunt involving fireworks that ignited the ceiling, plunging the club into darkness and causing the club-goers to panic and stampede towards the exits. The windows were boarded up and there was only one exit that was not displayed with a lit exit sign. There were 308 people present in the club. Most of the deaths were caused by the crush of the stampede. Among the casualties there are 5 people from Hong Kong, a 40-year old man who works in mainland China and 4 18-year old teenagers. The latter were going to celebrate the birthday of one of them.Aftermath
Video footage aired Sunday by Hong Kong'sHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
showed the smoke-filled nightclub after the fire. Overturned tables, broken glass and shoes littered the floor. Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
's provincial governor, Huang Huahua, blamed poor ventilation for the deaths citing something wrong with the architectural design. According to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
's RTHK 13 people were detained. Six people, including Wang Jing, president of the club, Zhang Wei, ex-husband of Wang and co-founder of the club, and four others of the club's management group, were charged with negligence and violation of safety rules. Another six people have been charged with harboring criminals, according to police.