At least six people died in a fire at a shopping mall in Zigong, southeastern China's Sichuan province, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Earlier, an unspecified number of people were trapped inside the building.
State broadcaster CCTV said the fire broke out at about 6pm (12pm in Poland) between the ground and fifth floors of the building in the city of Zigong, about 180 kilometres (110 miles) south of the Sichuan provincial capital Chengdu.
Videos and photos posted on social media show flames coming from near the fifth floor and thick black smoke engulfing the 13-story building.
“By 8.20pm (2.20pm in Poland) the fire had been extinguished and 17 people had been rescued. Others are still trapped and rescue operations are continuing,” CCTV added.
By 11pm local time on Wednesday (5pm in Poland), state media reported that at least six people had died in the fire and that a search and rescue operation was continuing. It was unclear how many people were in the building.
CCTV footage from the scene shows several fire engines, a boom lift and two ambulances. Three paramedics are transporting a person whose condition is unknown to one of them.
Fires in China
Fires and other fatal accidents are common in China due to a lax approach to safety standards.
In January, at least 39 people died in a fire at a store in the central part of the country. Authorities said the blaze, which broke out in the basement, was caused by a “breaking of rules” during construction. Chinese leader Xi Jinping called at the time for lessons to be learned from the disaster to avoid further tragedies.
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