A major fire broke out in a townhouse in Kaohsiung's Nanzi District on the evening of the 21st. The 24-year-old elder brother died after jumping from the building and his 22-year-old younger brother was critically injured, in a devastating tragedy for the family.

• The four-storey townhouse on Xiuqun Road caught fire at around 8 p.m. The blaze spread rapidly and fiercely, destroying all the furniture and belongings on the second, third and fourth floors.
• Driven by thick smoke to the barred window on the third floor, the elder brother shouted to neighbours that his younger brother was still inside, then fell to the ground. He was taken to hospital but could not be saved.
• After firefighters extinguished the blaze, they found the younger brother unconscious on the stairs between the second and third floors with burns to his face and chest. He was rushed to Veterans General Hospital for emergency treatment.
• The rooftop had a sheet-metal extension built on top, and the third and fourth floors burned most fiercely. Restricted escape routes were the key factor in the severity of the casualties.

Outlook: The exact location and cause of the fire await further forensic examination by the fire department.