Massive Fire Engulfs 200m-Tall Telecom Building In China's Changsha: Report

In horrifying footage, large chunks of rubble are seen being thrown out of the China Telecom Building, which houses the Hunan Province office of the state-owned telecoms corporation China Telecom.

A massive fire has erupted at a tower in Changsha, China.

Source : Twitter/@SixthTone

A massive fire broke out at a building in the central Chinese city of Changsha on Friday, according to state media, with the number of casualties "still unclear," news agency AFP reported.

"Thick smoke is spewing from the site, and several dozen floors are burning ferociously," state broadcaster CCTV was quoted by AFP in its report. 

"Firefighters have begun work to extinguish the flames and conduct rescues at the scene," it added.

In horrifying footage, large chunks of rubble are seen being thrown out of the China Telecom Building, which houses the Hunan Province office of the state-owned telecoms corporation China Telecom.

This afternoon, the building of China Telecom building in Changsha长沙caught fire, no casualties reported yet, stay safe everyone! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/QNnezk2Mxk

— China in Pictures (@tongbingxue) September 16, 2022

Residents in the Chinese city could be seen in videos staring in terror as workers were pulled from smoke-filled offices as raging flames licked the building's side.

Early accounts suggest that as the fire surged up the structure on Friday, people were evacuated from the premises.

According to reports in China, the structure, which is around 200 metres tall, "burned with great intensity," Reuters reported.

A significant firm, China Telecom has more than 362 million users and more than 270,000 employees.

The incident occurred just a few days after news came of a major fire that broke out on September 14 in a nickel plant in Russia.

A fire reportedly started at the Kola MMC factory in Monchegorsk, Murmansk area, according to reports by the Russian news agency Interfax.

Although there were no recorded injuries, activity at the factory had to be suspended as a large portion of the enormous industrial site was completely consumed by fire.

(With Inputs From Agencies)