Thread by @WilliamYang120

"Ten people were killed and nine injured after a fire broke out in an apartment building in #Xinjiang, a far western Chinese region, officials said, where Covid-19 lockdowns have confined many residents to their homes for more than three months." #China nytimes.com/2022/11/25/wor…

"The fire began on the 15th floor of an apartment building in the Jixiangyuan neighborhood of Urumqi, Xinjiang’s capital, on Thursday evening, the city’s Fire Department said.

It later rose to engulf the two floors above, with smoke billowing up farther, the department said on its official account on Weibo, a Twitter-like social media platform."

"The blaze set off a flurry of questions on Chinese social media about whether Covid restrictions had hampered the rescue or prevented residents from escaping their apartments or the building.

Much of Xinjiang, a region of 25 million people, has been under lockdown for more than 100 days as part of the authorities’ heavy-handed response to Covid outbreaks."

"But many Chinese internet users were skeptical of the official account. They shared what appeared to be screenshots of conversations between the government and residents of the Jixiangyuan community ...

... indicating that the compound had recently been placed under a stricter level of lockdown, which could have made it harder for residents to get to safety."

"Chinese commenters also pointed to video footage of what appeared to be attempts at putting out the fire as evidence that a lockdown had stalled the effort.

The footage showed pressurized water from a fire hose spraying just out of reach of the burning building, suggesting that fire trucks may have been unable to get closer to the building because the community had been sealed off."

"Uyghur activists outside China who have sought to draw attention to the lengthy confinement of people in Xinjiang said the tragedy pointed to the failure of the authorities to protect the residents.

“People are not allowed to go outside easily without permission from the government. My frustration is that the government is handling it very badly. They’ve showed that they don’t care about the lives of the Uyghur people," said Tahir Imin.

"How is the Fire Department unable to control this in three hours in a country like China with all its facilities and equipment and people?”

"Online, Chinese internet users expressed anger and sadness, sharing articles with titles such as “Last night’s fire in Urumqi is the nightmare of all of Xinjiang’s people.”

"hey circulated black-and-white images calling for a moment of silence to “express deep condolences to the 10 compatriots who died in the Urumqi fire.” Some residents offered their apartments to families who had lost their homes to the fire."