Multiple casualties in China mall fire, people trapped inside

Firefighters in China have pulled six bodies from a shopping centre, state media reported, with an unknown number still trapped after a blaze broke out in a 14-storey building.

The blaze started on Wednesday in a shopping centre at the foot of the building, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Footage broadcast by CCTV and shared on social media showed thick black smoke billowing out of the tower, located in Zigong in southwestern Sichuan province.

Around 30 people were rescued from the shopping complex, with the fire extinguished by rescuers around 8:20 pm (1220 GMT), CCTV said.

Later footage provided by a drone operator showed firetrucks and other first responders blocking off the road late at night, continuing to spray down the charred building.

"Six people have been killed," CCTV reported, adding that search and rescue operations were continuing with people still trapped.

Zigong's emergency services department received news about the fire at around 6:10 pm and immediately dispatched firefighters to extinguish the blaze, the broadcaster said.

Other unverified images shared on social media show people gathered in front of the burning building.

Lax safety standards

The emergency department has called on the public to "not to believe or amplify rumours" about the fire.

Zigong, some 1,900 kilometres from the capital Beijing, is home to nearly 2.5 million people.

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.

At the time, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for lessons to be learned from the disaster to avoid further tragedies.

The same month, a fire in a residential building killed at least 15 people.

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.