Firefighters extinguish a fire tearing through a shopping centre in Zigong in China's southwestern Sichuan province on July 17, 2024

Beijing (AFP) - A fire that broke out Wednesday in a shopping centre in southwestern China was extinguished but some people were still trapped inside, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Footage broadcast by the channel and shared on social media showed thick black smoke rising from a building in the city.

About 17 people were rescued from the building in the city of Zigong in Sichuan province, the channel said.

“By 8:20 pm (1220 GMT), the fire had been extinguished,” CCTV said, adding “some people are still trapped and rescue operations are continuing”.

A fire that tore through a shopping centre in southwestern China has killed 16 people, state media reports

The fire started in the early evening in a shopping centre at the foot of a 14-storey building, the channel said.

Fires and other deadly accidents are common in China due to lax safety standards and poor enforcement.

In January, dozens died after a fire broke out at a store in the central city of Xinyu, with state news agency Xinhua reporting the blaze had been caused by the “illegal” use of fire by workers in the store’s basement.

That fire came just days after a late-evening blaze at a school in central China’s Henan province killed 13 schoolchildren as they slept in a dormitory.