Photo : Collected
A fire that tore through a shopping centre in southwestern China has killed 16 people, state media reported Thursday.
Rescue operations concluded at around 3:00 am on Thursday (1900 GMT Wednesday), according to the local fire and rescue services cited by state news agency Xinhua.
Video broadcast by state media CCTV and shared on social media Wednesday night showed thick black smoke billowing out of the 14-storey tower in Zigong, Sichuan province.
The blaze started in the early evening in a shopping centre at the foot of the building, the channel said.
Around 30 people were rescued from the complex, with the fire extinguished by rescuers around 8:20 pm on Wednesday, CCTV said.
Later footage provided by a drone operator to AFP showed firetrucks and other first responders blocking off the road late at night, continuing to spray down the charred building.
As of 3:00 am Thursday, the death toll stood at 16 with no individuals left trapped inside, according to Xinhua.
Zigong's emergency services department received news about the fire at around 6:10 pm and immediately dispatched firefighters to extinguish the blaze, the broadcaster said.
Other images shared on social media -- which could not be immediately verified -- show people gathered in front of the burning building.
The emergency department has called on the public to "not to believe or amplify rumours" about the fire.
Zigong, around 1,900 kilometres (1,200 miles) from the capital Beijing, is home to nearly 2.5 million people.
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