Seven people adopted by a local woman were killed in a fire Friday morning at a house in Lankao county, Central China's Henan Province. Their adoptive mother, famous for taking in over 100 kids, is in custody for questioning by police.
An investigation into the cause of the fire was still under way on Friday evening, with no further information available, a spokesperson from the local government told the Global Times.
A 20-year-old man with congenital polio and four boys and two girls under 5 years old were killed in the fire, the People's Daily reported Friday evening.
An injured 10-year-old boy was still in intensive care at the No.2 People's Hospital of Kaifeng, reports said.
Earlier information from the local government showed that the fire broke out around 8:30 am at a residential building near the People's Hospital of Lankao, and firefighters put out the fire till 9:10 am.
The local government set up a special group to deal with the case. A local woman, Yuan Lihai, had opened a shelter to take in orphans and abandoned children.
The county's public security bureau said Friday evening that Yuan was in custody.
Yuan, a street vendor, began to adopt children from 1986 and had adopted over 100 children by last year. Many had moved on as adults but around 39 children still live with Yuan across four properties.
Her story made her a well-known and appreciated public figure, despite lingering doubts about her capacity to take care of so many children and her use of the kids to collect money from the government and private donors.
On Friday, an official surnamed Li from the civil affairs bureau of Lankao said that the bureau will take measures to improve the living conditions of the orphans adopted by Yuan, according to the local news website dahe.cn.
The local government will discuss sending five children newly adopted by Yuan to the social welfare home of Kaifeng.
The local government will also work with various groups to set up temporary living sites for the rest of the children taken in, said Li.
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