Apartment building fire in northern China's Taiyuan kills 14

At least 14 people have died after a fire in an apartment building in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province in northern China, CNA and The Straits Times reported on Monday, citing state media.

The official Xinhua news agency said the fire started at about 5pm on Sunday (8 November). The South China Morning Post described the building as a high-rise. Citing a statement from the local Yingze district government, it said firefighters had put out the flames by about 7pm and rescue work ended at about 8.30pm.

Xinhua said on Sunday evening that the fire was out and search and rescue work was finished. At that point the reported toll was lower than it is now.

"A total of 38 people were sent to hospitals for treatment, among whom five have died," Xinhua reported, according to CNA and The Straits Times. The SCMP gave the same hospital figures from the district government's statement and said dozens of people had been hospitalised.

Deadly fires are relatively common in China because of lax building codes and an often slipshod approach to workplace safety, AFP said in a report carried by CNA and The Straits Times.

AFP said China began a campaign against fire hazards in high-rise buildings in November last year. That followed a huge blaze that engulfed several tower blocks in Hong Kong and killed 168 people.

A month after the Hong Kong fire, 12 people died in a fire at a residential building in Guangdong province in southern China. In July, at least 28 people were killed when fire engulfed a shoe factory in eastern China, the agency reported.

None of the outlets reported a cause for the Taiyuan fire. Xinhua raised the death toll to 14 on Monday morning.

Sources: South China Morning Post, Fire in northern China high-rise building kills 14, injures dozens more; CNA, Apartment building fire in China's Shanxi province kills 14; The Straits Times, Fire in China apartment building kills 14: State media.