A fire kills eight at a shopping mall in southwestern China

BEIJING — A fire at a shopping mall killed eight people Wednesday in the southwestern Chinese city of Zigong, state media reported.

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

Rescue efforts were ongoing. It was not immediately known how many people were in the building, when the fire broke out or what caused the fire. The building houses a department store, offices, restaurants and a movie theater.

Social media video posts showed clouds of thick black smoke coming out of windows from the building’s lower levels and engulfing the entire 14-story structure as they rose into the sky. Huge flames were visible, and firefighters fought the fire with water sprays. Local media said firefighters also used several drones.

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

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