Beijing [China], July 18: Eight people have died and others remain trapped after a fire broke out in a shopping mall in China on Wednesday, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
CCTV reported that the fire broke out in a shopping center in Zigong, a city in China's western province of Sichuan, at around 6 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET) on Wednesday.
Dramatic images showed a huge column of black smoke billowing from the 14-story building. Several people are seen gathered on a balcony.
Nearly 300 emergency workers and dozens of vehicles were dispatched from the local fire department to the scene. The blaze was extinguished at 8.20 p.m. local time.
A total of 30 people have been rescued from the site. It is unclear how many people are trapped.
Such incidents are common in China, where safety standards fall short and enforcement is lax.
In January, a fire broke out at a mixed-use building in southeastern China, killing at least 39 people and injuring nine others. That fire came days after another blaze broke out in the dormitory of a boarding school in the central province of Henan, killing 13 children.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation