Burning Chinese mall kills 6, people still trapped

Firefighters in China pulled six bodies from a shopping center on Wednesday, state media reported, with an unknown number still trapped after a blaze broke out in a 14-story building.

The fire started in the early evening at the shopping center at the foot of the tower in Zigong, a city in southwestern Sichuan province.

Around 30 people were rescued from the shopping complex, and the fire was extinguished by rescuers around 8:20 pm local time.

“Six people have been killed,” state broadcaster CCTV said, adding that search and rescue operations were continuing with people still trapped inside.

Footage broadcast by CCTV and shared on social media showed thick black smoke billowing out of the tower.

Zigong’s emergency services department received the fire report around 6:10 pm and immediately dispatched firefighters to the scene.

The emergency department has called on the public to “not to believe or amplify rumors” about the fire.

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

Fires and other deadly accidents are common in China due to lax safety standards and poor enforcement.

In January, dozens died in a fire at a store in the central city of Xinyu, and the same month, a fire in a residential building killed at least 15 people.

In June last year, an explosion at a barbecue restaurant in the northwest of the country left 31 dead and prompted official pledges of a nationwide campaign to promote workplace safety.

And in April 2023, a fire in a Beijing hospital claimed 29 lives and forced desperate patients to jump from windows to escape.