China fires 6 officials after fatal orphanage fire

BEIJING (AP) — A fire that killed six children and one young adult at an illegally run orphanage in central China has prompted the suspensions of six local officials, a county government official said Tuesday.

The deaths Friday in Henan province’s Lankao county have spotlighted China’s lack of government-run child services. They are often left to private citizens with few resources and no legal authority. The Lankao government earlier acknowledged that it had turned a blind eye to the illegal orphanage, which cared for abandoned children and young adults.