Society

14 dead in building fire in C China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-01-19 06:38

Flames and smoke billow out of a building in Wuhan, Hubei province, Jan 18, 2011. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

A firefighter works at the site of a fire in Wuhan, Hubei province, Jan 18, 2011.[Photo/Asiannewsphoto]

WUHAN - The death toll in a building fire in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, has risen to 14 by Tuesday,Jan 18,2011, as rescuers found five more bodies in the debris, an official with the local government said.

Four others who were injured in the fire were receiving treatment in hospital, said a spokesman with the Wuhan City Government.

The fire started at around 11 p.m. Monday on the ground floor of a four-storey building. It spread over 900 square meters of floor space before it was contained.

The ground floor was a food market and more than 20 people lived in the floors above, according to a witness surnamed Tao. Many of them managed to escape the blaze.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.