Society

Six killed in building fire in central China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-01-18 10:50
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WUHAN -- Rescuers have found the bodies of six people after a fire swept through an apartment and commercial building in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, early Tuesday.

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Rescuers are still searching the four-story building, which is owned by Hongkang Industry Co. in Qiaokou District. An official with the fire department said the fire had spread over 900 square meters of floor space before it was contained.

He said there might be more fatalities. The fire started at around 11 pm Monday on the ground floor of the building and was extinguished at around 1 am.

The ground floor was a food market and more than 20 people lived in the floors above. Most of them managed to escape the blaze. More than 200 fire fighters were dispatched to the site and they rescued six people from the building, including an elderly man and a child.