China hotel fire leaves at least ten dead as firefighters desperately search for survivors amid smouldering debris
Devastating blaze rips through HNA Platinum Mix Hotel in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, South-eastern China
AT LEAST 10 people have been killed after a deadly blaze at a hotel in eastern China, local media has reported.
China’s official Xinhua news agency today told of the mounting body count as firefighters desperately search for survivors trapped inside the HNA Platinum Mix Hotel in Nanchang.
The blaze broke out at the luxury four-storey hotel this morning in the capital of South-eastern China’s Jiangxi province.
The raging inferno, which ripped through the building causing terrified guests to flee for their lives, took nearly two hours to put out, Xinhua said.
More than 260 residents of a 24-storey apartment building connected to the hotel were also evacuated amid fears the blaze could spread.
Dramatic pictures show thick black smoke billowing from the windows and rising into the sky in a towering plume.
Firefighters could be seen shooting jets of water at smoking, cracked wall panels as they battled to extinguish the flames.
Three people died in hospital while another 13 are reported to be battling for their lives.
Amongst them is a man who leapt from the second floor to escape the inferno, reports.
Firefighters found another seven bodies amid the smouldering hotel debris.
And there are fears that the death toll could rise as more bodies are found amongst the wreckage.
The fire was caused by the "cutting of decoration materials", Xinhua cited an initial probe as saying, without providing further detail.
Seven people have been arrested in connection with the blaze.
The Sun Online has contacted HNA Hotel group for comment.
Fire safety procedures are routinely ignored in China, with exit doors often locked and escape passages blocked in buildings across the country.
Earlier this month, 18 people were killed when a foot massage parlour caught fire in the eastern province of Zhejiang.
And seven died in a fire in an elderly care facility last month.
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