A large fire engulfed an elevated railway station which is currently under construction, in Changchun City, Jilin Province Monday. According to a report from the Beijing News today, the fire caused no deaths or injuries.
The fire ignited at a bridge pier of Weixinglu Station, the last station under construction in the third phase of the elevated railway. Within 10 minutes the flames soared 20 meters high and 100 meters long. Many of the railway fences on the bridge were destroyed.
Over 20 fire engines rushed to the scene and the fire was put out. According to firefighters, the accident was caused by construction workers who lit the fire to keep warm. The fire later became uncontrollable as the flames licked the cotton wrapped around the outside of the pier. "We have put out many fires like this," said a firefighter.
The previous accidents:
On October 24, part of the elevated railway on Jilin Avenue caught fire. A 20-meter-long work shed was destroyed in the accident. The fire was suspected to be caused by smoking.
On November 20, a work shed of the elevated railway near Gongping Road was set alight after construction workers lit a fire to keep themselves warm.
On November 30, the pier of elevated railway on Shiguang Road caught fire. The fire was believed to have been due to a short circuit of an electric blanket wrapped around the outside of the pier.