Fire in shopping mall in China kills 16, firefighters rescue 75

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The blaze started in a 14-storey commercial building in Zigong, located in the southwestern province of Sichuan. CCTV footage showed that the fire started from the bottom of the building where department stores, offices, restaurants and a movie theatre are located.

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Videos of the fire circulated on social media and showed the entire structure being engulfed in clouds of thick black smoke, which was emerging out of windows on the lower levels.

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The fire department requested the public to not “believe or amplify rumours”, in light of the videos spreading online.

Firefighters and rescue teams were working until early morning on Thursday and managed to save 75 lives, according to Xinhua news agency. They used drones and water sprays to extinguish the flames as well.

A preliminary investigation revealed that construction operations may have triggered the fire but authorities are waiting for a comprehensive inquiry to determine the exact cause.

Fire accidents have become a problem in China, with 947 fire-related deaths recorded from January to May 2023. It is a 19 per cent increase from the same period of the previous year, Li Wanfeng, spokesperson for the National Fire and Rescue Administration told Al Jazeera.

They also said that the number of fires, particularly in public places like hotels and restaurants, had risen by 40 per cent due to malfunctioning gas or electrical lines as well as carelessness.

A fire in January this year killed 39 people in a commercial building due to unauthorised welding in the basement. In February as well, 15 people died in Nanjing in eastern China due to a fire that tore through an attached car park that had electric bikes, as per Al Jazeera.