Four people died today in a fire that broke out in a residential building in Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu province in eastern China. The blaze began around 4:39 a.m. local time (20:39 GMT on Thursday) in a structure located in the Yuhuatai district, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Firefighters brought the flames under control by about 6:00 a.m. local time (22:00 GMT on Thursday), and the search and rescue operation was concluded. Investigators are looking into the causes of the incident, as reported by Xinhua.
In recent weeks, China has seen several similar incidents. The fires claimed the lives of thirteen people at a dormitory in the northeast of the country on January 19, followed by other fires at a hotel in Jinan in the east and a building in Xinyu, also in the east, resulting in four and thirty-nine fatalities respectively.
Following these events, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for efforts to reduce the frequency of such disasters and to protect lives and property, emphasizing social stability as a priority in this context. — Xinhua