Zhou Mi/AP
Firefighters work at the fire scene in Xinyu city, Jiangxi province, China, January 24, 2024.
Hong Kong CNN –
A fire broke out in a mixed-use building in southeast China on Wednesday, killing at least 39 people and injuring nine others, state media reported.
The fire started in the basement of the roadside building in Xinyu city, Jiangxi province, and quickly spread to shops on the ground floor and a tutoring center and guest house on the second floor.
Most of the victims trapped by flames and thick smoke were students attending classes at the center and people staying at the guest house, Xinhua said.
A preliminary investigation found the fire was caused by improper renovation of a cold storage facility in the basement, state news agency Xinhua reported. Twelve people were arrested, the agency said.
The tragedy came a few days after another fire broke out late Friday evening in a dormitory at a boarding school in the central province of Henan, killing 13 third-grade children. Authorities have not disclosed the cause of this fire.
Footage of the recent fire circulated on Chinese social media, showing people jumping out of second-story windows with the help of police and landing on a mattress laid out on the street.
Others climb down a ladder around the corner of the building as thick black smoke rises from the building and engulfs the sky above the street.
Xinhua/Shutterstock
The fire broke out in the basement of the building.
Zhou Mi/AP
The fire quickly spread to the ground floor and second floor.
“There was too much smoke and people (on the second floor) may not have known where the fire was burning. They may have thought the stairs were on fire and didn't dare run there,” a man who escaped from a ground-floor internet cafe told the state-run Beijing Daily newspaper.
Another witness told Cover News, a state media outlet, that many students were at the tutoring center when the fire broke out.
“I saw that most of those who made it were students, around 19 or 20 years old. “Some were able to escape on their own, others were rescued by the fire department,” the witness was quoted as saying.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued a statement on the fire, noting that it was another major recent security tragedy and calling for “deep reflection.”
Xi called on all government agencies to “learn profound lessons,” “carefully investigate hidden risks and dangers” in production safety, and “resolutely curb the frequent occurrence of various safety accidents to ensure the safety of people's lives and property as well as overall social stability.” ensure,” Xi told Xinhua.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
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