Deadly Fire at Chinese Shopping Mall Leaves Eight Dead

Eight individuals perished in a fire that broke out in a shopping mall in China, as reported by CNN, citing Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. The fire erupted in a shopping center in Zigong, a city in the western province of Sichuan, at 6 pm local time on Wednesday.

Nearly 300 emergency personnel and numerous vehicles were dispatched by the local fire department to address the incident. The blaze was successfully extinguished by 8:20 pm local time, according to CNN.

A total of thirty people have been rescued from the site, though the exact number of individuals who may still be trapped is unknown.

Incidents of this nature are not uncommon in China, a country where safety regulations and law enforcement are often lacking, as noted by CNN. Earlier in January, a fire at a mixed-use building in southeastern China resulted in at least 39 deaths and nine injuries. This incident occurred just days after another blaze in a dormitory at a boarding school in the central province of Henan, which claimed the lives of 13 children.