At least 16 people killed in fire at Chinese shopping mall | News

Firefighters rescue 75 people while an investigation into the cause of the fire continues.

At least 16 people were killed in a fire at a shopping mall in southwest China, state media reported.

The fire broke out on Wednesday evening in the 14-story commercial building in the city of Zigong in Sichuan province. According to the Xinhua news agency, firefighters were on site until the early hours of Thursday morning.

Firefighters and rescue teams brought 75 people to safety.

The fire broke out on the ground floor of the building, which houses a department store, offices, restaurants and a cinema, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

A preliminary investigation has shown that construction work sparked the fire, but a more detailed investigation to determine the exact cause of the fire is still ongoing, authorities said.

Videos of the fire circulated on social media, showing thick black clouds of smoke rising from the windows of the building’s lower floors and enveloping the entire building as they rose into the sky. The emergency department urged the public “not to believe or spread rumors about the incident.”

Local media reported that firefighters used several drones and water sprays to extinguish the flames.

In China, fire risk remains a problem: From January to May 2024, 947 fire deaths were reported there, 19 percent more than in the same period last year, said Li Wanfeng, a spokesman for the National Fire and Rescue Administration.

According to Li, the number of fires in public places such as hotels and restaurants has risen to 40 percent. The most common causes are faulty electricity or gas lines and carelessness.

In January, 39 people died in a fire in a commercial building because unauthorized welding work was carried out in the basement.

The following month, 15 people were killed in a residential building in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing when an attached parking lot containing electric bicycles caught fire.