Chinese investigators suspect that construction work sparked a fire in a shopping mall that killed 16 people

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese investigators suspect construction work at a shopping mall in the southwestern Chinese city of Zigong sparked a fire that killed 16 people. The blaze broke out around 6 p.m. Wednesday and took nearly 10 hours to extinguish, state media reported.

The 14-story commercial building was evacuated and 75 people were taken to safety, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The building houses a department store, offices, restaurants and a cinema. Video posts were posted on social media showing thick black clouds of smoke rising from windows on the building’s lower floors.

Local media reported that firefighters used several drones to fight the flames.

Fire hazards remain a problem in China. According to Li Wanfeng, a spokesman for the National Fire and Rescue Administration, 947 fire deaths have been reported so far this year, 19 percent more than in the same period last year.

According to Li, the number of fires in public places such as hotels and restaurants increased by 40 percent during this period. The most common causes were leaking gas pipes and failure to comply with safety precautions.

In January, 39 people died in a fire in a commercial building in southeast China’s Jiangxi province, caused by unauthorized welding work in the basement. In February, another 15 people died in a residential building in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing.

In Zigong, local resident Li Wanyu was shopping at an underground convenience store in the building when the fire broke out. Customers were quickly evacuated after flames were seen on the ceiling.

“When the staff organized the evacuation, I first thought it was a drill,” she told an Associated Press reporter. “I didn’t immediately understand what was going on. I wasn’t scared, I was confused. I ran out with everyone.”

Li said the shopping mall opposite Zigong’s government building was the busiest in the city when she was a child, but it is no longer as popular.

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Associated Press video journalist Caroline Chen in Beijing contributed to this report.