Johannesburg

Sunday

Showers late. Afternoon clouds. Pleasantly warm.

15°C
29°C

7 day forecasts

Fire at Shanghai skyscraper

2007-08-14 14:04

Smoke rises from the Shanghai World Financial Centre which is under construction in the Pudong financial district in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo)

Galleries   ·   User Galleries   ·   News in Pictures Send us your pictures  ·  Send us your stories

Shanghai - A fire broke out on Tuesday at what will be China's tallest skyscraper, dealing another setback to the long-troubled project, local fire officials said.

The fire, which hit the Shanghai World Financial Centre in the late afternoon, was quickly put out and there were no casualties, said a fire department supervisor surnamed Zheng.

City officials and representatives of the project declined to offer further details pending a probe into the fire at the 101-storey tower, set to be 492m tall when completed early next year.

A photo posted on a popular Chinese website earlier showed a large cloud of smoke wafting out of the skeletal upper reaches of the structure before it was put out.

The incident is just the latest blow for the troubled project, which has been dogged by delays and controversy since it was first begun in 1997, intended to be the world's tallest building.

It was shelved soon after due to the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and a massive property glut in the city, China's commercial capital.

It was resurrected in 2003 with plans for a six-star hotel, retail shops, a museum, observation deck and 70 floors of office space.

The price tag was set at 105 billion yen and completion was targeted for 2008.

However, the delays cost the project its status as the world's tallest building.

That honour currently belongs to 508m Taipei 101 building, which will in turn be eclipsed next year by Dubai's 800m Burj Dubai tower.

- AFP

inside news24

Weather
Traffic
Lottery
Cpt: 17-23°C Mostly sunny. Mild. Pta: 18-30°C Tstorms late. Afternoon clouds. Pleasantly warm.
Jhb: 15-29°C Showers late. Afternoon clouds. Pleasantly warm. Bloem: 17-33°C Morning clouds. Pleasantly warm.
Dbn: 18-25°C Afternoon clouds. Mild. PE: 17-25°C Morning clouds. Mild.
7 day forecasts...

Jobs - Find your dream job

Cars - Search 1000's of new and used cars

AUDI

2009 Audi A3 2.0 T Sportback Manual - 24000kms
Lava Grey & Tan leather interior
R 275 000

VOLKSWAGEN

CitiGolf 1.4i CitiSport 5-dr
2008
R 67,899.00

TOYOTA

Corolla 160i GLS MY04
2006
R 109,000.00

VOLKSWAGEN

Jetta 5 1.9 TDi Comfortline Dsl DSG
2009
R 314,699.00

Property - Find a new home

CHAKAS ROCK

Multiple Unit R4,400,000

HEUWELSIG ESTATE

Multiple Unit R1,650,000

SONSTRAAL

Single Residential R1,790,000

Travel - Look, Book, Go!

Luxury bush escape

Book a five-star stay at Pumba Game Lodge or Richard Branson's Ulusaba Safari Lodge and save R2 000. More details!

Free Games - TOO MUCH NEWS? TAKE A BREAK!

Kalahari.net - shop online today

Great Festive Savings on Books

Up to 30% Off ALL Books. 2.3 million titles on SALE.

Sleek New iPod Range. Order Your's Now!

iPod nano 16GB - Black, Was R2,499.00 Now R2,299.00! Save R200!

Up to 40% off Fabulous Festive Flicks

46 000 DVDs and Blu-Ray on sale now! Pre-order Up and District 9!

Up to 20% off ALL Music

100s of festive new releases now in stock! Now, Bump 25, Bon Jovi & more!

1000s of Festive Toys on Sale

Lots of Toys, free gift wrap, lowest prices on Lego Mindstorm, Ben 10, Hannah Montana & more!

Hot Deal of the Day!

Up to 30% off Books

Ends midnight, 30 November

2.3 million titles on sale! New Stieg Larsson, Jeremy Clarkson, Jamie Oliver & more!

Up to 40% Off Sale on All Books, Toys, CDs, DVDs & Games!