High-rise fire in Taiyuan kills at least 14, dozens injured

A large fire tore through a high-rise residential building in Taiyuan, capital of China’s northern Shanxi province, leaving at least 14 people dead and dozens injured, local authorities reported on the morning after the blaze.

Blaze broke out overnight; many taken to hospital

The fire erupted during the night of Sunday, November 8, 2026, in a tower located on a busy main street in the city centre. Emergency services said 25 people remain hospitalized, nine of them with serious injuries.

Footage circulating online shows smoke billowing above a roughly 40-storey block while firefighters, positioned on external cranes, battle flames coming from inside the building. The blaze affected multiple floors and prompted a large-scale rescue response.

Some social media posts identified the site as Haocheng International Apartments and reported different casualty figures: one widely shared post said five people had died and 33 were injured. Authorities’ tally of at least 14 fatalities and the hospitalised victims reflects the official count released after the initial rescue operations.

Fire crews continued search-and-rescue and extinguishing work into the morning. Local emergency services have not yet released a cause for the fire, and investigations are expected to follow once operations wrap up.

Photo: press material from the event