BEIJING, Nov 16 — Twenty-five people were killed in a fire at a coal company’s office building in China’s northern Shanxi province, state media said today.
The fire broke out at 6.50am at the four-story Yongju Coal Industry Joint Building in the country’s top coal-producing hub of Shanxi.
State broadcaster CCTV initially reported the fire killed 11 people and injured at least 51, before subsequently raising the reported death toll from the accident twice.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation.
Calls to Yongju Coal Industry were not answered.
Previous deadly fires in China have drawn public anger. In April, 29 people were killed as a fire ripped through a hospital in Beijing, leading to criticism of local authorities on social media sites.
China’s coal producers are also under scrutiny for a series of accidents in mines in recent months, which has weighed on production as mines stop work for safety inspections. — Reuters
