At least 14 people have died after a fire broke out at an apartment building in Taiyuan, capital of northern China’s Shanxi province, with the death toll rising sharply from the five fatalities initially reported on Sunday night.
The fire broke out at around 5pm local time yesterday, according to state news agency Xinhua.
A total of 38 people were taken to hospital for treatment, but 14 were confirmed dead as of this morning.
Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze on the day of the incident, while search and rescue operations have also been completed, Xinhua reported.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.
The tragedy adds to a series of deadly fire incidents in China, where concerns have repeatedly been raised over the enforcement of building and workplace safety regulations.
In November last year, China launched a campaign to address fire hazards in high-rise buildings following a devastating blaze in Hong Kong that destroyed several apartment blocks and killed 168 people.
A month later, another fire at a residential building in southern Guangdong province claimed 12 lives.
In July this year, at least 28 people were killed when a fire destroyed a shoe factory in eastern China.
