Fire at shopping centre in China’s southwest kills 16

Sixteen people were killed in a fire at a department store in Sichuan province in China’s southwest on Wednesday evening, state media said on Thursday.

The fire broke out in a 14-storey building in a high-tech zone of the city of Zigong, shrouding the vicinity with thick smoke, according to the Xinhua news agency.

Overnight rescue work ended at 3:00 a.m. (1900 GMT on Wednesday), state broadcaster CCTV said.

In a statement Thursday, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management urged rescue workers and provincial officials to determine the cause of the fire as soon as possible, and to learn lessons to ensure greater security in the future.

In January, a fire at a mixed-use building in southeast China killed at least 39 people just days after another blaze at a boarding school in central Henan province killed 13 children.