Tang Anqi, a member of idol group SNH48, was left with severe burns on large parts of her body after an accident occurred.
She is said to have been at a café with a friend on Tuesday evening. Eyewitnesses claimed that she and her friend looked to be in an argument, during which Anqi was seen with a lighter in her hand, although neither woman was smoking at the time.
Anqi, who is reported to have been wearing a down coat and stockings, was quickly engulfed in flames and ran down from the second level of the store. The staff, all of whom were on the first level, helped to put out the fire before she was sent to the hospital.
While the café has stated that they have surveillance cameras installed, the table at which Anqi and her friend were seated is said to be in a blind spot and no footage of them was recorded.
SNH48 made a statement on their official Weibo account to confirm the news, sharing that the company’s staff will be making blood donations as Anqi will require multiple blood transfusions. Since the announcement, both fans and staff have turned up at the hospital to donate blood.
They have also changed their background and banner picture to read, “Get well soon Tang Anqi, we will always love you!!!” Staff is also said to have started collecting donations for her medical treatment.
She is currently warded in the Intensive Care Unit in one of Shanghai’s hospitals but was confirmed by her agency to be in a stable condition after initially being classified under critical condition when she was first admitted.
Anqi will also reportedly undergo surgeries on the less affected areas on her limbs today (March 4). Her agency has announced on the group's official site that they will be paying for the remainder of her medical fees, which they shared "could amount to millions of yuan in total". (Ed's note: RMB 1 million is approximately SGD 210,000)