Urgent safety warning The fire highlighted a chronic safety problem in many of China's public buildings. Xinhua said the Ministry of Public Security Tuesday released an urgent circular ordering all discos and dance halls operating without a license or fire control systems to be closed immediately. Hotels, shopping malls, hospitals and schools should be checked for fire dangers, the notice said. Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year, falls next year at the end of January. China has issued such warnings in the past, but apparently with little effect.
Pervasive corruption means local officials often turn a blind eye to safety breaches.
Witnesses said the popular Dongdu Disco was dark and music was blaring so many party- goers were unaware they were in danger until it was too late. Panic erupted as smoke engulfed the dance floor, according to witnesses. A handful of survivors managed to throw themselves from windows onto air mats laid out on the streets below by rescue services. The shopping center is in the old section of Luoyang, an ancient former capital of China located just south of the Yellow River. A dance hall fire in 1994 in the northeastern province of Liaoning killed 233 people, many of them crushed to death or asphyxiated behind emergency exits that were chained shut.