Fire breaks out in shopping mall in East China

Firefighters try to put out a fire on a store of GOME in   downtown Jinhua City, Zhejiang province, Dec 24, 2010.

HANGZHOU - Fire engulfed an electric appliance store in east China's Zhejiang Province Friday night, local police said.

Flames broke out at around 8:30 pm at a store of GOME, China's leading electric appliance franchiser, in downtown Jinhua City, Zhejiang, according to the police.

The store occupies the first three floors of a 13-storey residential building. The store was in business when the fire broke out.

"The fire has engulfed six floors of the building so far. At least 10 people from the upper residential apartments have been transferred to safer places by firefighters as of 9:50 pm," said a witness.

The witness said there were people trapped on the 12th floor of the building, but the exact number of the trapped remained unknown.

Ambulances are waiting on the road. So far, no casualties were reported.

Fire fighters continue rescuing people from the upper floors by stairs.

Source:http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/

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Shopping mall fire kills 19 in Jilin

Photo taken on Nov. 5, 2010 shows heavy smoke over the sky near the burning shopping mall in the Jilin City, northeast China's Jilin Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

JILIN, Jilin -- The death toll of a shopping mall fire in Northeast China's Jilin City has risen to 19, as the rescue headquarters declared the end of rescue efforts Saturday morning.

Liu Qizhi, a spokesman with the city government said, 24 of the 27 injured people were still hospitalized, but none of them suffered severe injuries.

According to the headquarters, the fire, which broke out at about 9:15 a.m. Friday, was distinguished in 10 hours. The blaze was mainly raging on the fourth floor of the five-story shopping center, which was the place for furniture stores.

The government spokesman said a part of the fifth floor, which was a gymnasium, was also damaged by the fire.

The lower floors of the shopping mall built in 1987 at Hunchun Street are occupied by stores for selling garments and shoes. By the time the fire broke out, there were 64 stores operating.

The general manager of the mall has been detained by police for questioning.

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