Taiwan: 46 killed, dozens injured after fire tears through 13-story residential building

At least 46 people died and dozens were injured after a major fire broke out in a building in southern Taiwan on Thursday. The 13-story building caught fire around 3 a.m. today. A fire department statement said the blaze was "extremely fierce" and destroyed many floors.

According to reports, 32 bodies were sent straight to the morgue from the site of the blaze. Another 14 people who showed no signs of life were among 55 taken to hospital.

The cause of the fire was unclear, but firefighters noted the flames burned most intensely where a lot of clutter had been piled up.

Video shown on Taiwanese television showed orange flames and smoke billowing out of the lower floors of the building as firefighters sprayed water at it from the street. One woman, who was not identified, said her 60-to-70 year old parents were inside.

After daybreak, firefighters could be seen spraying water into the middle floors of the still smoldering building from elevated platforms.

Eyewitnesses told Taiwan media that they heard an explosion around 3 a.m.