10 killed, 9 injured in Xinjiang fire

Ten people died and nine were injured on Thursday in an apartment building fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, local authorities said.

All the injured were treated for moderate smoke inhalation and are in stable condition.

The fire broke out at 7:49 pm on the 15th floor of an apartment building in the Jixiangyuan community, and the smoke spread to the 21st floor. It took firefighters about three hours to extinguish the blaze.

Based on a preliminary investigation, the fire was caused by a power strip malfunction in a bedroom. Further investigation is underway.