High-rise residential fire kills 14 in China’s northern city of Taiyu

A fire broke out at a high-rise residential building in Taiyuan, the capital of China’s northern province of Shanxi, killing at least 14 people, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday. State media said 25 people were still in hospital, nine with serious injuries, citing authorities after the fire broke out on Sunday evening in the building on a busy downtown main road. Smoke billowed over the 40-storey structure as firefighters poised on cranes outside battled to douse the flames spreading from its centre, in video images circulated online and verified by Reuters. The fire was put out after about two hours and authorities said rescue operations wrapped up by 8:30 p.m., with 38 people taken to hospital. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire in the northern manufacturing hub, state media added.