Graduates of Dalian University of Technology In China Under Fire For Burning Building Graduation Celebration Photo

By Nadine DeNinno | May 30 2012 4:04 PM

Students at Dalian University of Technology in China are under fire - literally -- with school officials after a graduation photo of a group throwing their hats up in the air with a building burning as the backdrop went viral online.

Netizen "Brent-J"

Students at Dalian University of Technology in China are under fire - literally -- with school officials after a graduation photo of a group throwing their hats up in the air with a building burning as the backdrop went viral online. The graduates are seen in the photo unfazed by the dormitory which appears to be engulfed in a plume of smoke in the background while wearing their gowns and throwing their caps in the air.

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The graduates are seen in the photo unfazed by the dormitory which appears to be engulfed in a plume of smoke in the background while wearing their gowns and throwing their caps in the air.

According to ABC News, dorms at the Dalian University of Technology City College in Liaoning province were not actually up in flames as the photo appears. In reality, a warehouse behind the school's dorms reportedly caught fire just before the graduation ceremony began on Sunday. Students were evacuated from the building and relocated to a nearby hotel when thick clouds of smoke became visible. That's when this group of 23 students snapped the photo.

The Daily Mail reported that the photo of students with the building supposedly up in flames went viral, having been shared more than 3,000 times in two hours on Chinese social networking sites. Similar photos were taken at the scene, but the one posted by Netizen Brent-J was the most popular.

It's too big a coincidence to see the university on fire today, the students are filled with love in seeing the school burn, Brent-J wrote, according to Want China Times.

University officials were very angered the photos went viral on the internet, prompting the release of a photo series on the university website showing other students helping put out the fire who show the true spirit of the college. Our students should not be celebrating destruction.