39 people killed in building fire in China

At least 39 people were killed in a building fire in east China’s Jiangxi province on Wednesday.

The fire broke out at approximately 3 pm from a street shop in the Yushui district of Xinyu, the local fire response emergency headquarters was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

120 rescue, firefighters, police and local government officials were deployed to the scene.

Rescue efforts have ended, it said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered steps to curb repeated occurrence of safety accidents, the report said.

The local government said search and rescue operations are underway, and that the cause of the fire is under investigation.