North China building fire kills at least 14 people

BEIJING: A fire on Sunday at a high-rise building in Taiyuan, in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi, killed at least 14 people, the state-run Xinhua news agency said on Monday.

A total of 25 people remain in the hospital, 9 of them with serious injuries, state media said, citing authorities on Monday afternoon.

The fire broke out in the building in downtown Taiyuan at 4:59 p.m. local time (0859 GMT) on Sunday, state media said. Flames were put out roughly two hours later and authorities on Sunday said rescue operations concluded by 8:30 p.m. with 38 people transported to the hospital. Five were confirmed dead by late Sunday night.