At least 39 people were killed and nine injured in a shop fire in central China's Jiangxi province on Wednesday, state media reported.
“So far, 39 people have died and nine have been injured in the accident, with others still trapped,” state broadcaster CCTV reported shortly after 8 p.m. local time (1200 GMT).
The fire broke out “in the basement of a shop” in the city of Xinyu, CCTV said, without initially providing information on the number of people trapped inside or the cause of the fire.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for order and issued “important instructions calling for decisively limiting the number of frequent accidents across the country,” CCTV reported.
CCTV footage shows several fire engines and other emergency vehicles at the scene.