BEIJING&nbsp;— Sixteen people were killed in a fire at a department store in Sichuan province in China's southwest on Wednesday evening, state media said on Thursday (July 18).

The fire broke out in a 14-storey building in a high-tech zone of the city of Zigong, shrouding the vicinity with thick smoke, according to the Xinhua news agency.

Overnight rescue work ended at 3.00 am&nbsp;(1900 GMT on Wednesday), state broadcaster CCTV said.

Preliminary investigation showed the fire was due to construction operations. Further investigation was underway to identify the specific cause of the fire.

[[nid:690831]]

china

fires

Fire safety rules

deaths

Reuters

BEIJING — Sixteen people were killed in a fire at a department store in Sichuan province in China's southwest on Wednesday evening, state media said on Thursday (July 18). The fire broke out in a 14-storey building in a high-tech zone of the city of Zigong, shrouding the vicinity with thick smoke, according to the Xinhua news agency. Overnight rescue...

Fire at shopping centre in China's southwest kills 16