BEIJING: At least 39 people died and nine were receiving treatment for injuries on Wednesday after a fire broke out at a store in the central Chinese province of Jiangxi, state media reported.

“At 3:24pm on Jan 24, a fire broke out on the below-ground level at a store […] in Xinyu, Jiangxi,” the country’s state broadcaster CCTV reported. “Up until now, the accident has resulted in the death of 39 people, injuries to nine people, and others are still trapped,” state broadcaster CCTV reported just after 8pm local time.

The report did not specify a precise cause of the fire, or how many people were still in danger. Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “resolute containment” of deadly accidents in the country, in a statement made after the fire.

Xi “issued important instructions… requiring resolute containment of the frequent occurrence of various safety accidents to ensure the security of people’s lives and property and overall social stability”, CCTV reported.

Video footage released by CCTV of the scene showed several fire trucks and other emergency response vehicles lined up across the street from a row of businesses. State-backed outlet The Global Times posted a statement by an “emergency command” in the city, which had been set up by local officials after the fire broke out.

“At present, on-site search and rescue work is still ongoing, and the cause of the accident is also being investigated,” the statement said.

Footage from the scene shared on social media by government-run outlet The Paper showed huge clouds of smoke billowing into the sky as crowds of people looked on from a distance. Emergency response vehicles could be seen nearby as security staff told people not to go any nearer.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2024