16 Die In China Shopping Mall Inferno

Not fewer than 16 persons have been killed in a fire outbreak at a shopping mall in the southwestern Chinese city of Zigong, state media reported on Thursday.

Firefighters and rescuers responded to a fire call shortly after 6 pm at the 14-storey commercial building, and pulled 75 people to safety, according to the official news agency, Xinhua.

It was not immediately known what caused the fire or how many people were in the building when the fire broke out.

The building accommodates a department store, offices, restaurants, and a movie theater.

Social media video posts showed clouds of thick black smoke coming from the windows on the building’s lower levels and engulfing the entire 14-storey structure as they rose into the sky.

Local media said firefighters also used several drones to combat the raging inferno.

A spokesperson for the National Fire and Rescue Administration, Li Wanfeng said fire hazards remain the problem in China, which reported 947 fatalities in the first few months of 2024, ending on May 20, up 19% from the same period of the previous year.

Li said the number of fire incidents in public places such as hotels and restaurants rose by 40% and that the most common causes were malfunctioning electrical or gas lines and carelessness.