BEIJING (AP) — A fire broke out in a commercial building in China’s southeastern Jiangxi province on Wednesday, killing at least 39 people and injuring nine others, state media said.
Officials for the Yushui district of Jiangxi province said that the fire broke out in the basement of a shopping area in the afternoon. In addition to rescue workers, firefighters and police, local government officials were deployed to the scene.
State broadcaster CCTV later reported that rescue operations were complete and that no people remained trapped in the building, which it said housed an internet cafe in the basement and tutoring centers on upper floors.
Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a statement about the blaze, noting that it was yet another safety tragedy. He called on the government and Communist Party to “resolutely curb the frequent occurrence of various safety accidents, and ensure the safety of people’s lives and property and overall social stability.”
The statement included orders for the State Council’s Work Safety Committee to close any gaps in safety measures.
A preliminary investigation found the blaze was caused during an improper renovation of a cold storage facility in the basement, state-run news agency Xinhua reported. Twelve people have been detained, the agency said.
The tragedy came days after another fire broke out in the dormitory of a boarding school in the central province of Henan late on Friday night, killing 13 children in third grade. Authorities have not disclosed the cause of that blaze.
