Death toll in China shopping mall fire rises to 16

According to Xinhua news agency, the rescue operation ended at around 3:00 a.m. on July 18.

Smoke covers a shopping mall in Zigong city, Sichuan province, China, July 17. Photo: Reuters

Video footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV and shared on social media on the evening of July 17 showed thick black smoke billowing from the 14-story building in Zigong, Sichuan Province. The fire broke out in a shopping mall at the foot of the building.

About 30 people were rescued from the complex and firefighters extinguished the fire at around 8:20 p.m. on July 17, according to CCTV.

According to Xinhua News Agency, as of 3 a.m. on July 18, the death toll had reached 16 and no one was trapped inside.

The Zigong Fire Department received a report of the fire at around 6:10 p.m. and immediately dispatched firefighters to extinguish the blaze, the TV station said. The emergency department has urged people to "not believe or amplify rumors" about the fire.

Zigong, about 1,900 km from the capital Beijing, is home to nearly 2.5 million people.

Dozens of people died in January after a fire broke out at a store in the central Chinese city of Xinyu. The Xinhua news agency reported that the fire was caused by workers using “illegal” fire in the store’s basement.

That same month, a fire at an apartment building killed at least 15 people. The blaze came just days after a late-night fire at a school in central China’s Henan province killed 13 students sleeping in their dormitory.

Ngoc Anh (according to Xinhua News Agency, AFP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/so-nguoi-thiet-mang-trong-vu-chay-trung-tam-mua-sam-o-trung-quoc-tang-len-16-post303976.html