Central China fire death toll hits 8

ZHENGZHOU - The death toll of a house fire in Central China's Henan province has risen to eight as a badly injured person died in hospital on Tuesday, local authorities said on Wednesday.

The fire burst out at around 11:07 pm Monday in a rented house on the first floor of a five-storey building in Laonangang village in the economic and technological development zone of the provincial capital city of Zhengzhou.

The person who passed away on Tuesday was among 11 injured in the blaze, which killed seven at the scene, according to the publicity department of the zone's administration committee.

The identities of the victims are being verified. The landlord of the house has been detained by police.