New Delhi: Ten people were killed and nine others were injured after a fire broke out at a 21-floor residential building in Urumqi, capital of Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Thursday night, China's Global Times reported.
According to the Associate Press, the fire broke out Thursday night in the regional capital of Urumqi, where temperatures drop below freezing point after dark. It took around three hours to extinguish the blaze, the report mentioned.
The local government stated that the injured were all expected to survive and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
The incident comes days after 38 people died in a fire at an industrial trading company in central China, the blaze erupted due to welding sparks that ignited cotton cloth. As per the AP, four people have been detained over the fire in the city of Anyang and local authorities ordered safety inspections.
Series of recent fires have been attributed to old infrastructure, poor safety awareness, and, in some cases, government corruption with explosions and building collapses around China.
Notably, this comes as China continues to grapple with new Covid-19 outbreaks, causing lockdowns and rigid travel restrictions affecting millions of people. The country reported 32,943 new COVID cases on November 24 as opposed to 31,656 a day earlier, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, more details about the fire in Urumqi are awaited.
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