8 dead, 30 rescued as fire engulfs China's shopping centre

At least eight people died and 30 others were rescued from a dangerous blaze that erupted at a shopping centre in China's Zigong city, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Wednesday.

The fierce fire incident prompted a large-scale search and rescue operation at the shopping mall to rescue people who remained trapped inside the 14-storey building.

Images and videos on social media platforms showed a huge column of black smoke billowing from the shopping mall.

According to the state media, the fire broke out in a shopping centre in Zigong, a city in China's western province of Sichuan, at around 6pm local time (6 am ET) today.

Some reports suggested that the fire had been put out and rescue efforts were underway. However, it was unclear how many people were still trapped.

The local fire department dispatched nearly 300 emergency workers and dozens of vehicles to the scene. The fire was doused at 8:20pm local time.

This is another major fire incident in China this year as at least 39 people lost their lives and nine others were wounded after a blaze broke out in the basement of shops in Xinyu city of China's Jiangxi province in January.

In the same month, a fierce blaze at a dormitory in a boarding school — Yingcai School in Henan province’s Yanshanpu village — claimed the lives of 13 students before the firefighters managed to extinguish the fire.