Young child, father die in Chunghua fire; 2 people critically injured

Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) A fire broke out in a residential building in Changhua County early Thursday morning, leaving a 3-year-old child and his father dead, while two other family members were critically injured, according to firefighters.

Firefighters rushed to the scene and entered the burning four-story residential building, after they were told that five people were trapped inside at around 4:40 a.m., the County Fire Bureau said.

A 32-year-old man surnamed Hsu (徐) was pulled from the building, and he told firefighters that his sister, her husband and their two children, who lived on the second floor, were still trapped inside, according to the bureau.

When the rescue team reached the four family members, they were all suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and were then rushed to hospital, local authorities said.

The couple was taken to Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, and the two children to Changhua Christian Hospital.

The man, surnamed Chung (鐘), was pronounced dead on arrival, and efforts to resuscitate his 3-year-old son failed after 41 minutes, authorities said.

As of press time, Chung's wife remained in critical condition, while their 7-month-old daughter had been resuscitated and was in an intensive care unit, according to hospital authorities.

The fire was put out at around 5:20 a.m., less than an hour after 15 firetrucks, 46 firefighters and six ambulances were dispatched to the scene, according to the County Fire Bureau.

The cause of the fire is being investigated, it said.