Four students at Shanghai Business School jump to death to escape from burning dorm room

Sad news from the Shanghai Daily:

FOUR college students died after falling off the balcony of their six-story dormitory at Shanghai Business School while trying to escape a fire early this morning in Xuhui District, police said.

A witness told Eastday.com that she heard cries for help from a female student in the dormitory about 6:10am and saw the fire on the sixth floor. The blaze started in their room on the side of the building near Zhongshan Road West, which is close to Shanghai Stadium.

Four female students hung on the balcony’s handrail for about two minutes before they fell to the concrete, according to the witness.

Paramedics confirmed that they died at the scene.

The fire has been put out and no other injuries have been reported.

Firefighters found an electric device to heat water in a thermos in the dormitory that may have caused the blaze.

The investigation was ongoing, the report said.

Police has put alarm line in place and relatives of the college students are arriving at the college to check their safety.

Fire fighting department, public security and the college are holding emergency meeting.

Photo of the room from which the girls jumped from the Shanghai Daily