A Japanese man who was staying in the Shanghai high-rise when it was engulfed in flames on Monday was found dead with his wife, a friend of the couple told China Daily.

Yukihiro Tachibana and Wang Fang were "found dead in their kitchen", said Dong, a family friend who declined to give his full name.

He said he was given the news by a Shanghai firefighter who worked at the scene, although he did not explain where he learned of the deaths.

"They're gone," said Dong in a telephone interview on Thursday. He refused to talk any more about the tragedy, explaining only that Wang had permanent residency in Japan and that the couple had returned to China for her father's birthday.

"They were holding each other when they died," he added.

The Japanese consulate in Shanghai was still awaiting confirmation of the death as China Daily went to press.

"We've noticed the newspaper reports about the death of Japanese citizens but we haven't received confirmation yet," said a consulate spokeswoman who gave her name as Chen. "An investigation by related departments is ongoing."

Since the blaze in Jing'an district, a list of missing people has been updated and posted by the city's bureau of civil affairs at the temporary shelter in No 2 Amateur Sports School. Yet, that was removed on Thursday morning.

Chen Chang, a publicity official with the district government, said statistics on the missing will no longer be pinned to the school's notice board. Instead, the police will update the official figure.

"We're not authorized to publish the figure to the public. The police department has the updated figure," he said. "Relatives of the missing can access the list at the school's information desk."

However, Yang Ye, a senior police officer, refused to offer a number when contacted by China Daily. He said the information is only available from the district's publicity department.

According to the last figure made available to the public on Wednesday, 36 people were still missing.

Meanwhile, 16 of the 71 people hospitalized with injuries after the blaze remain in critical condition, said officials with Shanghai's health bureau.

Claims adjusters have already arrived at the temporary shelter to help residents deal with claiming on life and property insurance policies.

Staff at a consultation office set up by Ping'an Insurance, one of the biggest firms in China, said that 65 of its customers were safe, 11 were hospitalized, one had died and another was missing.

"The victim who died had life insurance and his relatives have already received full compensation," said Liu Yan, head of claims. He said the reason few residents of the building had purchased property insurance was because a lack of risk awareness.

The cost of insurance against fire, natural disasters and theft in China is roughly 300 to 500 yuan (US$45 to US$75), which covers up to 500,000 yuan of damage.

"We've found some clients affected by the fire didn't choose additional accident insurance when they bought their life policies," added Liu. "We can't pay out in those circumstances."

(China Daily November 19, 2010)