Pictures of the Day: Exodus from fire-ravaged Xinjian Village, Daxing

On November 18, a fire ripped through a two-story structure in the shantytown of Xinjian Village 新建村 in Xihongmen Town 西红门镇, Daxing District 大兴区, on the outskirts of Beijing (just inside Sixth Ring Road), killing at least 19 people, including seven young children. The tragedy prompted an evacuation that is only accelerating this weekend, part of an announced 40-day citywide safety check starting on November 20. Swathes of buildings deemed unsafe have already been demolished.

Lots of photos are emerging from this forced evacuation, highlighting the ongoing and compounding human toll from this horrific incident (18 have been detained, while the investigation is still ongoing). We’d like to highlight the picture above, taken by Peng Ziyang 彭子洋 of Beijing News 新京报, in which a waste collector scours the ruins of Juxin Apartments 聚鑫公寓.

Several more notable photos are below, all by Peng, collected from here.