No fewer than eight people have been killed with 15 others injured in a fire at a vegetable market in North China.
“The injured have been sent to the hospital for treatment and are currently not in life-threatening danger,” the Qiaoxi District People’s Government said after the blaze in Zhangjiakou city, northwest of Beijing.
The inferno at the Liguang market broke out at around 8:40 am (0040 GMT) and was extinguished after 10:00 am, the district government said. The cause of the blaze was under investigation.
People outside the market fled the blaze as dense smoke billowed skywards, according to footage published online and geolocated by AFP.
Other videos showed firefighters battling flames and transporting people away from the scene.
Deadly fires are quite common in China, owing to low building rules and an often sloppy approach to workplace safety.
Ant inferno in the important city of Chengdu in October left 24 people hospitalised with breathing problems, according to state media.
In July, 16 people were murdered in a fire at a retail centre in Zigong, southwestern China.
