China sees 13.6 pct drop in deaths from fire in 2020
Xinhua
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BEIJING, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from fires in 2020 dropped to 1,183 in China, down 13.6 percent from the previous year, authorities said Friday.

Firefighters try to put out a fire at Shuangmei Village in Anning City, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, May 10, 2020. (File Photo: Xinhua)

China saw about 252,000 fire accidents in 2020, down 1.4 percent year on year, incurring a direct property loss of 4.01 billion yuan ($620.59 million), down 0.5 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

High rises saw a remarkable rise in fires last year with 6,987 fire incidents reported, accounting for 2.8 percent of the total fires, up 13.6 percent from the previous year.

Meanwhile, 49.3 percent of the total fires befell in the rural regions.