Two more held over Shenzhen club blaze

By Chen Hong (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-23 07:05

SHENZHEN -- Police Monday arrested two more people in connection with Saturday night's fire at an illegal nightclub.

They were a shareholder of Wu Wang Club, or "King of the Dancers Club", and the man who allegedly set the club on fire by accident, a spokesman for the Longgang district government, Huang Wei, said at a press briefing.

The two arrested were not named.

The legal representative of the club, Wang Jing, along with 11 other people, the club's general manager, vice-general manager, safety officer, a technician and performers, were detained on Sunday.

The Guangzhou-based Nanfang Daily said the shareholder is the former husband of Wang and a civil servant. The nightclub had been "operating without a license" for about a year, Shenzhen authorities said.

The death toll remains unchanged at 43. The number of people on the critical list in hospital has risen from four to nine, and 54 are in satisfactory condition.

Two more officials were also sacked yesterday. On Sunday, the deputy director of Longgang district, Huang Haiguang, some fire and policemen were dismissed as punishment for the accident.

"Some officials have seriously breached their duties," Mayor Xu Zongheng said.

It was the city's second deadly fire this year. In February, a blaze at an industrial building in the Nanshan district killed 15 people.

On Saturday night, more than 300 people were watching a performance at the club when fireworks ignited material on the ceiling.

The blaze spread rapidly, engulfing the 150 sq m club.