A fire that broke out at a department store in Zigong, Sichuan province in southwest China on Wednesday evening, has claimed the lives of 16 people. Around 30 people were rescued from the complex.
According to the sources, the fire broke out in a 14-storey building in a high-tech zone of the city of Zigong, shrouding the vicinity with thick smoke. It began in the early evening on Wednesday and was extinguished by rescuers late night. The rescue operations concluded around 3:00 am on Thursday (1900 GMT Wednesday).
Video footage broadcast by state media CCTV and shared on social media showed thick black smoke billowing from the 14-storey building. The fire started in a shopping center at the base of the tower, prompting a swift response from local emergency services. Zigong’s emergency services department received news of the fire around 6:10 pm and quickly dispatched firefighters to the scene.
Later footage provided by a drone operator showed firetrucks and other first responders blocking off the road late at night, continuing to spray down the charred building.
However, by the time rescue operations concluded early Thursday, 16 individuals had lost their lives with no one left trapped inside.
Images of the incident, which were shared on social media, drew significant public attention. These images depict people gathered in front of the burning building, adding a harrowing visual account of the event.
The emergency department has called on the public to ‘not to believe or amplify rumours’ about the fire.
Zigong is located approximately 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) from the Chinese capital, Beijing, and has a population approaching 2.5 million people.
Fires are not uncommon in China, often due to lax safety standards and poor enforcement. In January earlier this year, an illegal fire in a store’s basement in Xinyu resulted in numerous fatalities. The same month, a residential building fire claimed at least 15 lives, while another fire at a school dormitory killed 13 sleeping children.
In June last year, an explosion at a barbecue restaurant in the northwest of the country left 31 dead and prompted official pledges of a nationwide campaign to promote workplace safety.
In April 2023, a fire in a Beijing hospital claimed 29 lives and forced desperate patients to jump from windows to escape.
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